by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
It’s been two years since Joey Nebulous’ last record, High On Daddy’s Day, was released, but the Chicago bedroom pop mainstays return with Give Yourself A Kiss For Me, a new full length due out via Sleeper Records (Puppy Problems, Will Henriksen, Hour). Led by Joseph Farago, the queer pop band started playing together in 2016, and has since expanded into a quartet to bring to life the unabashedly pop-centric songs. Dealing with the anxieties of being queer, Joey Nebulous use sparkling lo-fi and what they describe as “Nintendo-inspired synth melodies” to capture both love and heartbreak in short and concise songs (including one lovingly about Daniel Day Lewis).
The record’s lead single “New Joey” is just that, our first new taste into their minimal dreamscapes of the new album. The song captures the project at its most enigmatic and exuberant, creating a danceable backbeat from the start and leaning into it as Farago sings “I want to have a reason to feel okay”. There’s an undeniably sad sentiment to much of the lyrics, but there’s a carefree delivery to it all that feels like it knows things will eventually be right in the end.