The Joy Hotel share new single 'Black Balloon'
The Joy Hotel | Photo credit: Hugo Thomassen
Glasgow septet The Joy Hotel are today sharing 'Black Balloon', the second single to be taken from their forthcoming debut album Ceremony, out July 19th via SO Recordings. 'Black Balloon' follows the album's surging lead single 'Jeremiah' and this time finds them trying to make sense of indescribable tragedy. Vocalist Emme Woods says about the song:
"Black Balloon went through many forms before we finally finished writing it while recording at Rockfield. It feels deeply personally, like a bit of a curse or premonition. In essence it’s a story about someone losing their baby and helping that person find their way back to health, both physically and mentally. We wanted the song to move through stages, with each part bringing us closer to seeing the light in a dark time. The song culminates in a refrain that is intended to have a unifying spirit, that maybe life would be easier if we all helped each other more. When it came to playing live for the first time, it was a lump in the throat kind of tune but we’ve made it through and it’s finally time to release to the world."
Newly signed to SO Recordings and with a debut album proper in hand, The Joy Hotel have become a word-of-mouth success story in the Scottish DIY scene, and have since taken their live show across the UK and Europe, playing festivals including Hidden Door, Doune the Rabbit Hole, Connect, TRNSMT, Twisterella, Latitude, Sound City and The Great Escape.
The band spent eleven days at Rockfield, the legendary studio in Monmouth, Wales, recording live-to-tape. When they left, they had a sound. It is often contradictory, in that it combines the songwriting sensibilities of pop and country with arrangements reminiscent of the psychedelic scene of the 60s, six-part vocal harmonies with elements of noise rock, beautiful balladry with a sense of humour, and a cinematic quality. The result of those eleven days is debut album Ceremony, a record that searches for the profound in the seemingly routine, and reaches out with arms wide open to wring celebration out of each moment.
Ceremony will be accompanied by a short film documenting the creation of the album called ‘Come The Ringing Bell’.
Continuing about the album, vocalist Luke Boyce says: “Ceremony is twelve songs strung together to form one continuous piece of music. In our minds it’s the soundtrack to a film that doesn’t exist. We spent two weeks at Rockfield Studios in Wales tracking it live to tape and what emerged was, in our opinion, a bold and ambitious piece of work that we’re proud to present as our first offering. It explores themes of hope, regret, love and the passing of time. We called it Ceremony because we wanted to encapsulate the pursuit of meaning in daily rituals and the celebration of being alive.”
Pre-order debut album Ceremony here
Listen to 'Black Balloon' on streaming services here and watch the video below.
The Joy Hotel are:
Emme Woods - Vocals, guitar, keys + songwriter
Luke Boyce - Vocals, guitar, keys + songwriter
Juan Laforet - Keys, guitar + vocals
Jack Boyce - Drums
Jack Borrill - Bass + vocals
Jenny Clifford - Guitar + vocals
Scott Flanagan - Acoustic guitar + vocals
THE JOY HOTEL 2024 LIVE DATES
31 May - Fynefest, Argyll, UK
06 July - Kelburn Garden Party, Kilmarnock, UK
03 August - SWG3, Glasgow, UK (supporting Belle and Sebastian)
Instore live dates
Monday 22nd July - Glasgow Assai - Tickets here
Tuesday 23rd July - Edinburgh Assai - Tickets here
Thursday 25th July - London, Dash The Henge - Tickets here
The Joy Hotel - Ceremony tracklisting
1. I Decline
2. Forever Tender Blue
3. First Joy
4. Jeremiah
5. Black Balloon
6. Rapid Eye Movement
7. Old Man's Eyes
8. While We're Young
9. No Use
10. Twenty Three (A Comedy) - Part 1
11. Twenty Three (A Comedy) - Part 2
12. Killing Time
13. Small Mercy
