joyrobber – devizine.com

Poor Joyrobber, got his car broken into, on his birthday too, but avenged them in song! Requiem for my Car Window is this mysterious character’s third single to date. I loved the first couple for some strange reason, no point in changing my mind now…..

“Have you ever had a really terrible birthday?” Joyrobber asks, presuming none could be as catastrophic as his 25th, in which the back window of his Ford KA was smashed in, and all his possessions taken. In the song he includes the itinerary; chocolates, birthday cake and cards, and the thug even popped his birthday balloon; who does that? He’s the joy robber, Joyrobber, not you!

Or maybe you too, as by the finale, despite it hiking up his insurance, he wagers they have loads in common. It’s this dry sense of self-deprecating humour which throttles Joyrobber and drives him to the edge of sanity within the simple grievances, and provides it with originality, like The Divine Comedy went sour.

Personally, I’d say I’ve had my car broken into, and had some pretty rubbish birthdays, but never together. And if I had and felt driven to scribe a song about it, it wouldn’t be the ultimate power-ballad of towering rock we have here, blessed with twinkling pianos, a huge chorus and some crunchy Weezeresque. The kind of anti-birthday song to make Clare Grogan shudder, upset and vengeful where he rightfully hopes when the culprit needs the toilet, there’s a massive queue!

With production by Sugarpill Productions and the vocal engineering skills of Jolyon Dixon once more, we’ve still not unmasked Joyrobber’s alter ego, but would we reveal his true identity if we did?!

Probably not, ruin the mystery, wouldn’t it? But clues are building with each new song, he’s Pewsey based, has an abhor for Jeremy Kyle, with poor interview skills, and now we know he drives a Ka, all of which stand to reason! Cool song, though; fun in tragedy, and original, keep the unfortunate incidents coming, Joyrobber, here’s wishing you inconveniences for the new year, that you might pen some more marvellous reactions to!!

A second track from local anonymous songwriter Joyrobber has mysteriously appeared online, and he’s bitter about not getting his dream job…..

If this mysterious dude’s August invective track at racist talk show host Jeremy Kyle, and his patronising attitude, it feels like him telling me he’s “not one for holding a grudge,” might have a smidgen of irony too! His grungy pop-punk response to his career rejection might be biting satire, but amusing with it.

Eight and a half years ago, he claims, he was cruelly denied his dream job by what appeared to be a corrupt interview process. Perhaps it was to take over from Kyle, but Joyrobber reveals nothing, even after I badgered him for a clue to his identity.

What we do know is it was produced by Sugarpill Productions, a parody of hip hop pioneering label Sugarhill, has the vocal engineering talents of Jolyon Dixon, and is rather catchy with a highly amusing hook. I Didn’t Want Your Stupid Job Anyway is indicative of how we all might feel after a failed interview but being British, we bit our tongue. A bolshy after-contemplation with dry implications, in a Weezer skater-punk two-fingers up fashion.

I don’t believe for a second he’s pleading for sympathy, just to get the frustration off his chest by thrashing a guitar at it. If you’ve been there too, you’ll identify, making me like this more than the debut single, because I’ve an incalculable history of bodged job interviews, likely because they were all knobs as well!

It’s up on Spotify, downloadable from Bandcamp with a “name your price” option, and it’s Marmite, love it or hate it, it remains a sticky spreadable extract to get over your dysphoria, but not sing at the Job Centre.