No Joy - Bugland

Canadian shoegazers No Joy release their long-awaited fifth album Bugland. Now the solo project of Jasamine White-Gluz, it’s their first new material for five years and also their debut for Sonic Cathedral.

Bugland finds Jasamine Gluz-White teaming up with producer Fire-Toolz (aka Angel Marcloid) to create the aural equivalent of a late-’80s i-D magazine front and back cover, with a non-problematic National Geographic hiding within. It was, at least in part, inspired by White-Gluz’s move to a more rustic area of Quebec, something which also explains the gap between albums.

“The wait wasn't intentional,” she explains, “but I think rural living made me tune out the noise of the music biz and focus more inwards, writing and taking my damn time.” The hook-up with Fire-Toolz was inspired. The renowned future fusionist adds not only magical co-production, but other sonic additions/dances/noises/mysticism.

“The collaboration really felt limitless,” she enthuses. “I could easily relate to it because Jasamine and I liked a lot of the same music, and I was able to be creative in ways that were freeing as if I was making my own album.” Both spent days driving on empty rural highways listening to the mixes, and it reflects in the final product.

With an open ear, many “influence eggs” can be detected by the listener. ‘Garbage Dream House’ is Zooropian without any of U2’s ego baggage. Epic closing track ‘Jelly Meadow Bright’ even manages to meld the out of control saxophone from The Stooges’ Fun House with the chill buoyancy of a high-end spa.

Touching on respected, familiar genres and sounds while attempting to advance one’s own isn’t easy but Bugland manages to. What genre is it anyway? Is it even shoegaze when it could live happily on a shelf next to Boards of Canada and Autechre? The right answer is ‘yes’. What a lovely shelf it would be as well.

Bugland is a testament to White-Gluz’s evolution and her ability to channel a wide variety of tastes into something cohesive that can descend into fine-tuned chaos, then out of that chaos with ease.