Joy Cleaner - "False Alarm"

You can’t talk about power pop in 2022 without mentioning Joy Cleaner. Well, at least in my humble opinion, because there’s no one that’s doing the Teenage Fanclub/Posies thing as well as they do. The Bloomfield, New Jersey duo of Kyle Wilkerson and Joey Degroot has really never written a bad song, and that includes the assortment of B-sides and compilation-only tracks that they’ve released over the course of the last half-decade. If you’ve ever found yourself bouncing around your Bandcamp purchases to hear some of their great non-album tracks like “Halcyon Park” and “6.5,” then you’re in luck, as last week, the band released Spent Flowers, a compilation that conveniently puts them all in one place. But that’s not all, as Degroot and Wilkerson sprinkled in a couple of previously unreleased original tunes on the compilation, including “False Alarm,” our Song of the Week! 

The chorus in “False Alarm” goes down smoothly with a breezy, open strummed guitar hook that sits nicely beneath Degroot and Wilkerson’s perfectly harmonized voices. Thankfully, it’s not a two-and-done refrain, and instead makes a handful of appearances across the track’s three-minute runtime. The verses are effortlessly sweet as well, as Degroot demonstrates his ability to command a song through his distinctive singing and versatile guitar playing, which adds and sheds depth at different points. “False Alarm” is what I like to describe as a real mid-tempo stomper with an even-keel energy level that bristles just a little bit at the end for a memorable outro, where those aforementioned guitar hooks morph a bit and get a few extra sugary reps in. You’re gonna want to listen to the very end - it’s the best part!

“False Alarm” is the first track on Spent Flowers, which is out now via Jigsaw Records. You can purchase the compilation on limited edition vinyl via Bandcamp. Keep up with Joy Cleaner by following them on Instagram.

Photo by Tony Russo