Slowcore outfit Joyer’s new split EP finds the North Jersey duo leaning further into their unhurried, speaker-crunching sound, providing two tracks replete with innovative lyricism and roughly-hewn guitars. Recording alongside North Carolina’s Aunt Ant (formerly of NYC) and Toronto’s Poor You, their tracks “Juniper” and “In Time” are trudging, at times uneasy drone rock— band members Nick and Shane’s unison sing-speak provides hazy non sequiturs (“I hear the mosquitos when they bite down,” “I’m a ghost-running backlight) alongside stuttering chord progressions and trudging rhythmic breaks. The end result is an engaging mix of slacker rock wordplay and discordant instrumentation, both boisterous in its separate parts yet quiet in execution, and a sound that will resonate with fans of Red House Painters and LVL UP. Give it a listen below. —Connor Beckett McInerney
