Joshua Zero – Your Eyes Are Fighting Me (2021)
With a reputation for engaging and infectious music, UK-based Joshua Zero combines the sounds of Radiohead, Blur, Pixies and Dead Kennedys. Critically acclaimed for their singles ‘Barbed Wire Eyelashes’ and ‘Yellow Teeth Red Skin’, the group has featured on publications like RGM and several playlists/online radio stations. Not only are they getting their music out there via streaming platforms, but the band has also shared the stage with Berlin Soybomb. The latest addition to their well-received discography is the hard-hitting ‘Your Eyes Are Fighting Me’.
Recorded last year with producer Bob Cooper, ‘Your Eyes Are Fighting Me’ is the first single from Joshua Zero’s upcoming debut EP. With dynamic guitars, pounding drums and a jarring vocal execution, the group take a fresh-faced nu-rock stance. What I find intriguing is the harmonious flow of instrumentation despite the distorted presentation. It is like listening to Bikini Kill where the punk elements are complementary without having a smooth, laidback ballad-y style.
Following the grunge/stoner-rock style ‘Yellow Teeth Red Skin’, ‘Your Eyes Are Fighting Me’ is heavier, harder and more intense showcasing the group’s versatility. Moreover, the interspersed crescendos and diminuendos add an eclecticism to the pot. Poetically chronicling the absurdity of the human condition, Joshua Zero insert depth into their already thought-provoking songs. Zero explains that he “wrote that [‘Your Eyes Are Fighting Me’] without any instruments…it was weird because I could hear the chorus clearly.”
The melody has a hypnotic effect, but it is the vocals that make the song. Punctuated with piercing tones, there is distinct turbulence in the kaleidoscopic soundscape. Joshua Zero shares that “…it was just all about the shit I heard and experienced in New York.” – this sentiment is definitely evident in the raw, blunt and brash single ‘Your Eyes Are Fighting Me’.
For more from Joshua Zero check out their Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
