Last year I reviewed an absolutely crackling track called "Don't Listen!" by Athens-based punk band The Overjoyed. This band has been releasing music since the early 2010s, but I must admit to being unaware of its output prior to last year. But "Don't Listen!" definitely grabbed my attention, and I was pleased to discover that the band released a new full-length album (its first in seven years) a couple weeks ago. This self-titled album is a fine work of melodic punk rock and power pop that mixes influences nicely while still maintaining a largely cohesive sound.
The album opens emphatically with "Can't Write Music," an absolute banger of a song. The story behind the track is that singer/guitarist Leo was struggling with writer's block a few years back, towards the end of the pandemic. At a moment when it seemed like everyone else was using their down time to write and record music, he was going through some heavy stuff personally and found himself adversely affected by Covid-era social-political hysteria. He literally couldn't write anything. Then one night, he sat down and wrote a song about not being able to write songs — ironically finishing it in a single evening. You can hear the feelings pouring out of him on this song, which is a perfect tone-setter for the rest of the album. I can truly appreciate the irony of a band called The Overjoyed making an album this dark. It's definitely an album of these times, and the influence that modern-day punk rock had on its sound is undeniable. I can totally a dig a band that can move seamlessly from aggressive punk rock to high energy power pop to old school punk-pop. The band's love for Green Day remains apparent on "Don't Listen!" and "Party Eyes," while "Spark" is classic power pop/punk done to perfection. "Laundromat" and "Already Late" are giving Radioactivity vibes, and I've got no complaints about that. "Joy Vampire" brings a heavier sound — think 2000s commercial punk, but not in a bad way.
All in all, this is a powerful-sounding record. These guys really put their hearts and their guts into these songs. The album, which was recorded at the band's own studio in Athens, is the rare example of a punk record sounding super-polished but in no way lacking an edge. This thing sounds massive and raging, and that makes these songs hit even harder. This album totally lives up to my expectations. It manages to scratch my nostalgic itch for '90s punk rock yet still sound like it's that one of those records that's ushering in an exciting new era of power pop/punk. Great stuff from Greece!
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