Artist Profile: Joyer
Joyer, the noise-leaning, indie rock band led by brothers Nick and Shane Sullivan, has undergone multiple sonic transformations since its inception in the basement of the duo’s childhood home. Yet, with the release of their latest project, On the Other End of the Line…, they have reached an identity rooted in a careful intentionality, maintaining many of the Slowcore-driven influences that defined their earlier output while gaining a stronger appreciation for the traditional song structures that have lent a kind ear upon their newest creative era.
As children, the brothers were continuously exposed to their parents’ music taste, with artists like The Beatles, The Kinks, Neil Young, and Captain Beefheart serving as the constant backdrop to their childhood. Their parents were both avid music lovers, and, as the two got older, they naturally began to pick up the guitars and other instruments that were laying around the house.
Although it began as an unstructured form of play, it quickly developed into a passion for both of them. As they got access to the internet, they would constantly show each other new bands and new genres that they were discovering, and, as their tastes widened, so did their interest in playing music.
Yet, there was never the typical sort of competitive spirit between Nick and Shane that usually exists between brothers. Growing up in a small town in New Jersey where there were little opportunities to get plugged into a larger music community, it was, instead, a collaboration out of necessity: one that worked as well as it did because of, not despite, their relationship as siblings.
“We always kind of bickered and stuff, but there wasn't really a competitiveness. It was always in the name of collaboration… I talk to so many people that are, like, ‘Wow, I can't imagine making something with my sibling or collaborating in that way’, and, yeah, it’s pretty hard for some people to wrap their heads around that, but I feel like we have a really unique relationship where we're just close enough where we're able to collaborate and share ideas freely… we grew up with similar music tastes, so we have always wanted to take the project in similar directions.”
Their first project, 2019’s Peeled, was born out of a love for bands such as Duster and featured the earliest creative yearnings of the pair. They would often etch out a song in their basement, running with the first idea that struck their minds and building off of it rather spontaneously. The result was a project that, in its youthful sporadicness, showcased a profound and budding creative consciousness that had formed out of the two’s collaborative ease.
After that first project, they began getting in touch through social media with bands that were operating within their same niche, making connections that not only forged lasting ties between them and various music communities, but ones that granted them their first opportunities to play live shows in their local area.
From these experiences their second and third projects, Sun Into Flies and Perfect Gray were born, displaying each of their growing prowess on their instruments in conjunction with the refining of their sonic tastes.
Yet, when the pair separated for college, and there was a whole new set of obstacles to be overcome, there was also a wider artistic community for them both to ingratiate themselves into, meaning that Joyer, through this separation, was brought to the masses.
The gap between their third project, Perfect Gray, and their fourth, Night Songs, was therefore, at least partially, a product of the changing circumstances of each brother’s life. Yet, at the same time, it was also a product of a new, intentional approach that they had decided to take to their creative output, lingering over each song until they felt it had found its ultimate form. At this time, the indie influences that had entered their lives compelled them to also return to the sounds of their childhood, and, as they studied some of the more pop-oriented song structures of their father’s tastes, they felt more and more as though this approach suited the new direction they wished to pursue.
“As the years went on, and the more we practiced songwriting, the more ambitious we got. Originally, I feel like it was mainly about the guitars, and vocals were an afterthought and drums were just very simple 4/4 beats,” said Shane, “With the past two records, I feel like we've gotten a little bit more confident with our vocal approach and different rhythms… We used to mix the vocals way down, but now it's been a conscious ambition of mine to put more effort into singing and getting more comfortable and confident.”
Therefore, their last two records, and especially On the Other End of the Line…, represent not only a stark shift in sound for the duo but also a drastic shift in creative intention. Now, as they bask in the glow of their latest album, they plan to continue writing, using their shared intuition for the project’s direction to continue to push their sound forward.
