JOY ATLAS

Strikingly simple and clean, Joy Atlas’ latest track ‘Drop your sword‘ is an intricate creation and a curious delight. Glitchy drums, flirty synths, angular bass patterns come together in perfect union with Beccy Owens’ piercingly beautiful vocals. Floating above the song’s minimalist instrumentation, her voice is vulnerable and strong, uplifting and frighteningly fragile.

The sentiment of the song urging the listener to “drop their sword” and embrace their vulnerability is a perfect thematic resolution to the track’s hidden depths and delicate complexity. The track playfully waxes and wanes, without ever fully revealing itself and leaving your wanting more, thinking and feeling more.

Field Music with its irregular math pop rhythms is a definite, perhaps all-too-obvious reference point but the song has a lot more raw emotion, vocal agility and an almost hazy, slightly trippy vibe . It’s a smart move from a band who are shaping up to be one of the strongest contenders in the ranks of new music hopefuls.

Words by Anastasia Connor

Tipped by Jill Guthrie from When The Gramophone Rings