Current Joys is a project of musician Nick Rattigan, who also sings and plays drums for the band Surf Curse. The band’s newest album titled A Different Age is officially released on March 2nd, but on February 26th, a visual version of the album was released on YouTube, and I need to talk about it!
The visual album is a series of nine music videos. The music and videos are beautifully simplistic, while also managing to convey a lot of emotion, and while not a lot happens in a majority of the videos, they are still intriguing enough that you just CAN'T look away. Lyrically, the album seems to focus a lot on themes of nostalgia, anxiety, and uncertainty. It contains raw and emotion-packed vocals, over steady, somewhat hypnotic drum beats and simple, yet engaging guitar. The video for Become The Warm Jets was the first to be released on January 8th, and visually is one of my favorites of the project. This video is strikingly simple yet also manages to convey a lot of emotion. It does a wonderful job of setting the stage for what to expect throughout the rest of the project. Fear is musically my favorite track. In this song Nick sings about his anxieties, the lyrics are simple yet really capture the experience of going through life while constantly battling with anxiety. A Different Age is another favorite track of mine! The tracks before it feel as though they kind of build up to it, then A Different Age is a sudden burst of energetic passionate vocals. My Nights Are More Beautiful Than Your Days, is kind of an odd one out from the rest, music video wise. The video, released on Valentine's Day, shows various clips of a couple, it is beautifully put together, and will leave you feeling nostalgia for memories that aren’t even yours. Overall, this project is a work of art. I highly recommend watching through it. It will bring back a lot of memories, stir up a lot of existential thoughts, and leave you feeling a lot of intense emotions, but in the best way possible. I can really see this blowing up, it definitely deserves a lot of attention! Watch it here
words by katie
picture from current joys video
