United Sounds of Joy (photo: Lawrence McCarthy

Organ Thing of the Day, for that is what we do here these days, cherry pick a thing, a piece of art, a slice of music, a gig, a painting, an exhibition, maybe a book, never a cup cake or a cat, certainly not a beard of a coffee shop, a thing of the day. Today’s Organ Thing of The Day then, the united sound, some might say the reunited sound of those United Sounds of Joy, read on…

United Sounds of Joy have their second album on the way, Where Those Who Fall Are Left Behind is the first track to be let loose from United Sounds of Joy’s forthcoming second album, War is A Force That Gives Us Meaning.  – “Now moving into some more obviously electronic territory than their debut work, Where Those Who Fall Are Left Behind sets an unsettling lyrical mixture of empathy and misanthropy in opposition to a sonic backdrop that teeters on the point of being uplifting”.

United Sounds Of Joy

The first taste of the new album is of course as beautifully serene as we’d expect the first taste to be, the first album was one of the highlights of last year and that first gig back in March 2016 is still filed in that Rolodex of essential gigs. This first taste of the second album promises to be equally as special, here then is yout first taste, some kind of exclusive premiere of the video so we’re told, not that we go in for all that exclusive premiere nonsense. Watch if first time with your eyes closed, then watch it again (and again). Where Those Who Fall Are Left Behind is released on 18th November 2017 on the Bronzerat label. News of the album soon…

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Somewhere in my head is a Rolodex of gigs you really had to be at to get anywhere near understanding how good they were, gigs that can’t be described, fragments of what happened can’t be found on YouTube, we didn’t have things like that back then, you had to be there breathing the air and… United Sounds of Joy and that Rolodex of gigs you had to be at 

United Sounds Of joy, Servant’s jazz Quarters, Feb 2016

The first album wasn’t a comeback but there is rather colourful history, here’s the review that ran on these fractured Organ pages back in February of last year

–  ALBUM: UNITED SOUNDS OF JOY – United Sounds Of Joy (Bronzerat) – Dystopian shadows and dream almost too real to…. ? Dystopian beauty? Can you have such a thing? This really is a beautiful album, it feels dark but it really isn’t, it glows, dark jewels, alive and bright in a darkened room? Dust in… tead on… ORGAN: The United Sounds Of Joy? Don’t call it a comeback…

United Sounds of Joy are Michael J. Sheehy, currently of Miraculous Mule and Alex Vald. Back in the nineties they were members of John Peel faves, Dream City Film Club (Organ favs as well of course, we did give Mr Peel a copy of that first release, it was afterall released on our then thankless record label ORG). The two of them hadn’t created any music together for something like twenty years, they rather unexpectedly reconvened in 2015 to merge some new sounds with some older ones and now they’re back to merge some more –  “Glorify the word that kills you, Celebrate the flowering of fear” – United Sounds of Joy

www.unitedsoundsofjoy.co.uk / Bronzerat

United Sounds Of Joy, Servant’s jazz Quarters, Feb 2016

This rather beautifully crafted film will give you a small idea of the magic that happened over at the debut live performance of United Sounds of Joy at the Servant Jazz Quarters back in early 3016. A fine document of a special night made by Joel Stevens and ChooChoo Films.

“In the dark times
Will there also be singing?
Yes, there will also be singing.
About the dark times.” – Bertolt Brecht