Joyce Island (Independent)

Would the band that is Joyce Island please step forward?

Joyce Island claims on its website that it’s a rock ’n’ roll band. But, the only picture evidence to be found anywhere are solo shots of—admittedly very attractive—blue-eyed frontwoman Lisa Joyce. So, Joyce Island, which are you? Are you a rock band, or are you Lisa Joyce and her backing musicians?

I say the former.

I want to see Mikey Manville, Chris Jaggers, and Flavio Cirillo, the three men responsible for taking Joyce’s very pretty but still developing voice and giving it a place to roam. The guitar work is competent and the drumming straightforward; the cohesiveness of Joyce Island’s players makes a sound that is larger than its parts.

Its debut self-titled album is clean, with an innocence that will have listeners who are looking for an edge left wanting.

For there is no edge here. The group may have played it safe for its first effort; the tracks are all well produced, well timed, with even progression and a healthy amount of energy but not much in the way of emotional expression, vocally or instrumentally.

Joyce’s vocals are sweet and a nice counterpoint to the straight-up rock guitar of songs like “World Without Pain” and “No Sorrow”.

While the faster songs are promising if not entirely accomplished, the band finds its strength in the slower ballads where Joyce can stay within her range, as in the breakup song “Ain’t Got You”, a clear homage to Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow’s classic “Picture”. The ’50s-inspired “Forgiven” is another standout; vocals that invite singing along and an honest-to-goodness fuzzy guitar solo make for a satisfying listen.