Recommended Tracks: “She Got Me,” “Violet,” “Fighting in the Car”
Artists You May Like: Briston Maroney, flipturn, Hippo Campus
Detailing themes of identity, emotional turmoil and ebbs and flows of relationships, Joe P’s Garden State Vampire is your one stop shop for rock this fall. Building on the evolution of his sound from the 2022 EP French Blonde, Joe’s latest project features singles like “Birthday Baby (The Girl with No Smile),” “She Got Me,” and “Lily.” Despite the lyrical diversity of each track, the album maintains a cohesive feel.
“Everybody’s Different” starts off the album and slaps you in the face with percussion and lyrics that explain an accepted carelessness. This sets the tone for the remainder of the album, where we see many songs explore the complexities of existentialism, but in a way that is not so philosophical but digestible, and even catchy. Joe P pulls from 60s classic rock in “She Got Me”, with a riff that is a hybrid of The Kinks “You Really Got Me” and Y2K classic “Song 2” by Blur. This high energy and ode to New Jersey’s Garden State Parkway create a fun and energetic feel. This contrasts well with “Off My Mind” which is more stripped in the intro than the first songs before this. The verse vocals go up on a scale making it easy to sing along to.
“Violet” is a promise, speaking of the start of a new relationship, with keyboard accents accentuating the most crucial lines: “I think I’m gonna love you for a long time”. The songs continue to transition to more ballad beginnings with an emotionally resonant “Birthday Baby (The Girl with No Smile)” including one of the best bridges in the entire album. The following Lumineers-adjacent, finger-picking “Lily” is hopeful and subdued, referencing Shakespeare’s Romeo in this bridge “And tell ’em you found Romeo / And, in a way, I guess it’s true / ‘Cause he will be the death of you”.
“Shadow in the Sun” features bell accents and a gritty, fuzzy guitar tone reminiscent of more of The Kinks’ “All Day and All of the Night.” The guitar work enhances the lyrics, describing a cycle where the singer returns to someone who is clearly wrong for them, entranced and maybe even trapped in a self-sabotage loop. “Wonder Bread” feels childlike, with its references to Robin Hood and toes in the sand, despite the subject matter actually being about outrunning an atomic bomb. At this point in the album, we take a brief intermission from relationships and dive back into existentialism.
We get into relationships once more with a rockier version of “Fighting In The Car,” a diversion from the previous track with its haunting sonics and narrative. This track feels claustrophobic and dangerous, looping into another cycle where both parties are responsible for setting fire to a thing that was once good. The album concludes on a somber note with “Nothing At All,” addressing the tension between achieving desires and finding happiness. The lyrics reflect this struggle: “But I just can’t keep / Running from myself / To the arms of someone else / Thinking something’s gonna change.” Throughout Garden State Vampire, Joe P explores the quest for happiness and peace, ultimately revealing that getting what you want doesn’t always equate to finding true contentment.
Keep up with Joe P: Instagram // TikTok // Spotify // YouTube
