The Band Of Holy Joy are back, to yet again prove my decades long embargo on them was totally wrong headed, with an album that should be heard as widely as possible, while we try to turn this ship around and bring the world back to a peaceful loving state. Let Johny Brown and the current line-up of James Stephen Finn, Peter Smith, Conor Fenson, Joseph Sergi, Basia Bartz, Jon Clayton, Gil de Ray show us the way back to sanity.
The album opens with Born To Sin that has is slow disturbed drum and bass electronica for Johny Brown to emote his desperation at where the world is over, he claims he'll help you into heaven, is this by fair means or foul, will you allow him to help, or just laugh in his face at the fecundity of our modern malaise.
Stay Toxic has ambient noises discussing how you could be that toxic, can you heal, or is this a global disease, are we doomed, is there even the smallest chance that you can change your ways, while never naming who this is aimed at, we will all have a few names to throw in to the toxic miasma of the 21st century.
Nihilistic Ends has Basia Bartz string section whipping up a storm of fraught nerve tingling dread, before Johny almost speaks rather than sings of the destruction he sees all around, that he may or may not have been party too, ghostly sounds echoing to a slowly building beat, how to turn things around.
Existential Kills slowly ruminates on the myriad manifestations of murderous intent we seem capable of inventing, rather than finding ways to live together happily, without arguing over issues that can never be solved, organ tones are both sexy and menacing in equal measure, this transient dream engulfs them.
Scorched Jerusalem is a sequel to the hymn Jerusalem, asking questions of the Jerusalem we have created, is this really what all those prayers were meant to create, Johny urgently asks questions, while trying to gather together all the gods and goddesses, to recreate the original dream of a New Jerusalem that Joseph Of Arimathea tried to create in St Pancras, can we transform mankind back to the righteous path once more.
Dead Romantics of dark electronic visions, hoping we can all end up as Dead Romantics, remembered for all the love we gave, rather than dark warriors bringing hatred, death and despair.
Breivik Island looks at mass murder, an idealistic way to try to change the dial, how one deluded youth can open such a huge can of worms, the awful reality of what that slaughter was hoping to bring must be countered, this is a mantra of hope against the despair, don't give in to the Nazi nasty voices.
French Riots is almost a pop song that feel almost hopeful for the way the French Riot in ways that needs a large audience singing the chorus, hopefully in a cloud of Gauloise smoke, hopefully not for the reason they riot in La Haine either.
Palace Commune takes a good dark look at the disease, within the ideals of monarchy, where it led us, the gentle strings at odds with the grainy salvos of guitars, hoping to help us all to live free, lovers never fighters.
When The Tulips Bloom perhaps the war will end, we can emerge into a new peaceful dawn, strings build giving this a semi classical chamber pop electronica feel, they hope we can dance towards a less doomed future.
The album closes with Playing At Being Sad that looks back on lives well led, the nihilism and the fun, the hope that somehow they were for beauty, this is an uplifting close to a dark dystopian nightmare, that can't be drowned out with alcohol, they were always trying to be good happy people, I wish the bands audience had realized that back in the late 80's too.
Find Out More at https://bohj.bandcamp.com/album/scorched-jerusalem https://www.facebook.com/bandofholyjoy https://bandofholyjoy.co.uk/
