EMPTY JOY - I don't sleep well anymore (Track Premiere)

Written by: The Administrator 

Eons ago, back in the primordial days (2019), my friend and collaborator Ancient Hand started a generally uncategorizable ambient/noise/experimental project called Empty Joy. I premiered "Drowned," the band's mighty and uncomfortable debut single, and, as a recent trawl through the ol' archives revealed, I evidently interviewed them as well. Said interview ends on a predictive note: Ancient Hand states that "the debut Empty Joy album, It has occurred to me that I am suffering, will be out late summer, 2020." A mere six years later, I'm excited to premiere "I don't sleep well anymore​," Empty Joy's second single for the very same project, now revised into a shorter five-track EP.  Time is weird. Life happens. So it goes. Which is, in a meta sense, entirely the point.

Indeed, the release schedule is quite fitting. As I conceptualize it, the project is, both literally and musically, about the process of growing up and easing into the routine of adulthood. A loss of youthful innocence, perhaps. Thematically, it is fitting that its creation and eventual release span a sizable chunk of the member's respective early adulthood. The forthcoming release of It has occurred to me that I am suffering feels significantly more poignant than if the band dropped it in late summer 2020 as intended.

Anyways! Let's get to the music, shall we? Give "I don't sleep well anymore​" and the subsequent "Drowned" a listen below! As always, we'll meet you on the other side.

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"I don't sleep well anymore​" serves as the intro to It has occurred to me that I am suffering. As such, it sets the stage for an expedition through a wide array of familiar emotions. The project was conceptualized as a juxtaposition between sunny environs and the human conditions of grief, anger, and pain, and in the context of this EP at large, a sense of melancholy sunniness falls more towards the back half. The intro, then, leans a little despondent. The track title alone feels like an observational thesis and a weary admission. It feels both deeply personal and uncomfortably universal. After all, whomst among us is not, at any given moment, simply exhausted?

"I don't sleep well anymore​" churns to life with a throbbing noisy ambiance, an exercise in white-noise that is not overwhelming per se, but definitely claustrophobia-adjacent. After a jarring (complimentary) transition, the track murmurs brightly and, eventually, gives way to an uncomfortable and otherwise unsettling squirm. Sonics aside, the central component of the track is a muffled and muttered monologue about sleeplessness and bad dreams and tragedy. The spoken vocals are buried pretty effectively, and it takes more concentration than anticipated to maintain attention on the story, which thematically makes a whole lot of sense. "I don't sleep well anymore​" represents the the lullaby of exhaustion and grief-dreams. It's the sound of being put through the wringer without meaningful reprieve. It is, unfortunately, the sound of growing up and experiencing bad things. It's a great track, and accomplishes a whole lot within the confines of its short runtime.

While quietly disquieting​, "I don't sleep well anymore​" is pretty profoundly disrupted by "Drowned," a track that has festered in my mind since release. It is a chaotic song, a harbinger of emotional excess. Any readers of my original review can probably parse that I deeply enjoyed what Empty Joy was doing, both musically and emotionally, with said track. I was in my mid-twenties when I first heard "Drowned." With the benefit of a little life experience and a lot of emotional peaks and valleys, "Drowned"--and, by extension, the intent behind this project--hits a lot different in my thirties, I can tell you that much. I'll leave it at that. 

Empty Joy's I don't sleep well anymore will be released this Friday, June 12th. The 5 track EP will be released in full on June 19th. Stream above and hit that pre-order! Find it here.

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Empty Joy can be found at Bandcamp