Love’n’Joy

About

" A modern indie jam band "

It’s not much of a stretch to connect Love’n’Joy’s name to events in their home country right now, or the fact the Ukrainian trio called their new album – which was finished in Kiev just three days before the war began – ‘Half Home’. The psych-rockers have long been inspired by what they perceived as a journey of “tribal collective unconsciousness” represented by 70s psychedelica; but in the face of Russia’s illegal invasion, they’ve also been adding their message of, well, love and joy, to that of defiance, and doing all they can to help their homeland by raising money for those defending their country.

They set up Musicians Defend Ukraine, a fund to help buy equipment for those on the frontline, providing everything from bandages and helmets to drones and medical supplies, and in the first two months, they raised over €48,000. Enlisting friends and fellow musicians the world over, they’ve received a huge amount of support; “People through the whole world have helped us, from Singapore to Sri Lanka, from Canada to the U.S.,” the band recently told Kerrang magazine. “It’s a really warm feeling that everybody cares for each other.”

Their music is certainly deserving of wider acclaim and recognition too. Possessed of a dreamy quality, it harks back to the golden age of 60s and 70s British pop and trippy psychedelica. But there’s also an element of hard rock and plenty of guitars, which lend a rougher edge. Think of them as a modern indie jam band, happy to let songs bloom into great, hazy clouds while letting their trademark riffs lock into deep grooves and chug along.

An activist band doing good in the world and providing a little sonic escapism? Just the kind of love and joy we need more of.