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My Heart to Joy's cited influences are common enough in this scene -- Jawbreaker, Braid, Sunny Day Real Estate -- but instead of being satisfied with acting as a glorified tribute act as so many of their contemporaries unfortunately do, these guys are bringing something incredibly unique and refreshing to the table with Seasons in Verse, a record that sees a band that was once brimming with potential doing the unlikely thing and largely realizing said potential.

After a somewhat conventional instrumental intro, "Empty Homes" sets the table for what's to come with angular, sweeping guitars, frenetic drumming and distantly yelled vocals. MHTJ reel in the organized chaos a little bit for most of the title track, but the last 30 seconds or so see the band in full-on rocking mode, cymbals crashing hard and guitars noodling about as fast as they can be noodled; most bands who try to pull off this sort of thing fall flat on their faces, but My Heart to Joy do it rather effortlessly. The drum fills on "All of Life Is Coming Home" are rather impressive, carrying the song and making the buildups all the more exciting with each beat.

"Giving My Hands Away" is a real standout track; once you get past the freakishly impressive drum fill that carries the first part of the song (seriously, I'd have a better chance performing successful brain surgery than air-drumming my way through that), the guitars twinkle without losing focus and the vocals here are earnest and passionate, just how they need to be for this sort of song to work.

My Heart to Joy also do an admirable job of breathing new life into the Guided by Voices classic "Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory," turning what was a lo-fi, minimalist pop song in its original version and morphing it into a huge, sweeping anthem that seems to fit in with the entire scope of Seasons In Verse without a hitch.

The only gripe to be found on Seasons in Verse is that while the band does exhibit top-notch instrumentation and their compositions are nearly always interesting, the tempo doesn't change much from song to song (the only glaring exception being the deliberately paced closing track "Watch Me Live"), which might cause some listeners to space out at times. That's small potatoes, though, and there's so much more to like about this band and record that even pointing that out seems like a reach. Possessing the intricate stylings of a band like Look Mexico meshed with the crunch and urgency of a band like Polar Bear Club, My Heart to Joy is primed to become a force to be reckoned with in the nuevo-emo scene with Seasons in Verse. Get used to hearing their name.

FULL ALBUM STREAM

Asbestos Records is handling the vinyl release.



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    Posted by killthepatriarch on 2009-06-01 08:59:38

    It's a decent album, but I liked them more in there screamo-days.

    Posted by hugochavez on 2009-05-20 14:31:45
    My Score:

    This is great stuff! Reminds me of early Planes Mistaken for Stars mixed with the Promise Ring.

    Posted by SilentStorms on 2009-05-20 09:27:13
    My Score:

    Meh. I downloaded their disco a couple o' months ago via this site, and it was pretty sweet screamo/hardcore stuff. Listened to these new songs and vowed to never buy anything by them.

    Posted by onegirlarmy on 2009-05-20 01:46:37

    Didn't the have a longer name before, with something like "...At The Same Tone" tacked on to the end? Or am I thinking of a completely different band?

    I'm fairly certain it's the same band and they dropped the second part of their name.

    Posted by polaris on 2009-05-20 00:28:38

    Yeah, I'm diggin this a lot.

    Posted by Blackjaw_x on 2009-05-19 23:26:13

    Had been looking forward to this for a good year, and listened to the same 4 songs I had grabbed from their myspace for months without them getting old. But I got the full album and haven't really felt the urge to listen much. Irrelevant really, because the music is great. Just saying I haven't listened much, I guess. Wow I'm pointless.

    Posted by Bryne on 2009-05-19 23:03:21
    My Score:

    You know exactly the thing you have that would make me agree with you.

    Come to Florida, I'll let you hear them. Otherwise, no dice.

    Posted by icapped2pac on 2009-05-19 18:31:24

    Didn't the have a longer name before, with something like "...At The Same Tone" tacked on to the end? Or am I thinking of a completely different band? In any case, I'm eager to check this out. I just wish I could get streaming audio in my work truck, because I spend many many hours there, resulting in not having time to sit at the computer and listen to a whole album.

    Posted by GarrettIrish on 2009-05-19 17:14:41

    I've listened to this quite a few times now,and I really feel like they've progressed alot. Definitely one of my new favorites.

    Posted by SloaneDaley on 2009-05-19 16:25:41

    This interests me greatly.

    Posted by mikexdude on 2009-05-19 14:35:10

    You know exactly the thing you have that would make me agree with you.

    Posted by bryne on 2009-05-19 12:38:34
    My Score:

    steady, firm, and focused on rhythmn execution

    These traits and urgency aren't mutually exclusive, Mike. You have to concede that at the very least, PBC's vocals are rather urgent quite frequently.

    But, y'know, agree to disagree, etc

    Posted by mikexdude on 2009-05-19 12:17:16
    My Score:

    Yeah, I would say they're the opposite of urgent; steady, firm, and focused on rhythmn execution.

    At any rate... this is a great album. Score's for Orchid.

    Posted by bryne on 2009-05-19 09:52:03
    My Score:

    I wouldn't say polar bear club is urgent.

    That's somewhat disheartening coming from a self-proclaimed fanboy.

    Posted by robalobadob on 2009-05-19 04:26:19
    My Score:

    I've been pumped on this record since I first listened to that album stream a couple weeks ago. It's got such a cathartic feel to it, and the album artwork is great.

    Posted by mikexdude on 2009-05-19 00:32:22

    I wouldn't say polar bear club is urgent.

    /fanboy

    Posted by nocigar on 2009-05-19 00:27:02

    Those are some pretty excellent influences to have. Streaming it right now and so far I enjoy

    Posted by inagreendase on 2009-05-19 00:06:21
    My Score:

    As far as realizing their potential, I respectfully disagree. I like this album, but I don't think it's quite near what they're capable of. Still, it's probably the most original-sounding debut that'll be released this year, and the Guided by Voices cover is great. It's wild how they were basically Orchid 2 just a few years ago.

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