Joy Again gets weird and poppy with new tracks, “Kim” and “On a Farm”

Philly five-piece Joy Again have been around the scene in one way or another for quite a bit. Adapting in different forms and names, they’ve worked with the likes of Mom + Pop records and Lucky Number, while playing a whole lotta basement shows along the way. Now, they’re back with a new bout of tunes via Never Grow Up —  in which they’ve recently released the two singles, “Kim” and “On a Farm.”

Both songs share a video, as well as the short and sweet length of just about two minutes. But the similarities pretty much smack to a halt there, as the tracks exist as a sort of A and B-side advertisement to their expansive style-sliding-scale from: a.) exuberant indie pop to b.) the oh so wonderfully strange.

“Kim” dances more to the beat of the former, with sometimes-lead vocalist, Sachi DeSerafino, fronting the catchy-as-heck tune. Don’t get me wrong, this one lays a heaping of off-kilter oddity as well, with valley-girl sound bites, general sporadicity, and the “Kim” in question possibly belonging to the Kardashian variety. But the track also splashes an inherent anthemic youthfulness that’s just so dang fun.

The video then slowly morphs into the Arthur Shea-led, weird country-psych ballad gem, “On a Farm.” Floating from the empty building that houses “Kim,” Shea stumbles in a trip to the calming simplicity of the great outdoors. But those quiet sounds and peaceful scenery are drenched in an unsettling, looming atmosphere of spookiness; where an underlying uneasy feeling culminates into the warped and shaken flee.

No tour dates are currently on the horizon for the band, but with an album announcement most likely on the way (pls), let’s hope for some spicy shows as well. Watch the video for “Kim” and “On a Farm” below.