Joyside see themselves as some sort of punk band. However their definition seems to be quite different from that of your average European mohawk with dog and safety pin earring. This is more or less traditional midtempo rock. They even cover the Rolling Stones, thankfully in a rather traditional way which I like much more than all this Punk Chartbusters bullshit a few years ago. There is a lot of blues in their sound. I doubt they really know too much about the history of punk and rock, the way it developed out of the blues, altered its face more and more and finally split up into so many different tribes. What they seem to have understood on the other hand is that rock music has always been maladjusted, rude and dangerous in a way. Even Bruce Springsteen or Bryan Adams weren’t born as the boring old farts they are now.

In our European context this band may sound tame and a little old school but in their own lives and in their Chinese context what they do is a little revolution. When they sing about alcohol and love the hedonistic way they do they propagate an individualism that must seem dangerous in the eyes of the bureaucrats of the Chinese dictatorship who don’t want free minds but willing workers and who value stability over freedom. From this point of view Joyside are more important and more rebellious than 90% of all bands in Europe or North America.

The artwork is done with love, skills and a few typos. The booklet contains lyrics, photos and some info on band and label in English, German and Mandarin. It is a great thing that Fly Fast attempts to fuck the eurocentrism in our music scenes by showing us that the world doesn’t end at the Ural or even nearer. If you like Tarantino soundtracks or search for a romantic dinner variety of The Stooges Joyside should be on your list. If you think this band can’t be good anyway because it is from China then you should not only listen to it but also read some Frantz Fanon or Michel Foucault.  [jan]

www.myspace.com/joyside