The Joy Hotel, one of the most exciting and talked about new bands in Scotland, release their debut single Jeremiah today Feb 24th via Ringing Bell.
With its instant earworm guitar hook opening over the found-sound ramblings of a Glasgow street preacher, Jeremiah “is a lament for the end of the world from two opposing perspectives; one of which welcomes the chaos, the other helpless in the face of it.” says singer and co-writer Luke Boyce.
Luke’s writing partner and foil at the top of The Joy Hotel’s barbed spear is Emme Woods who says of the song “Jeremiah was actually one of the last tracks we finished for the album. it didn’t quite seem like a race to the finish line, more of a completion of a body of work. these things sometimes come unexpectedly, a very pleasant surprise.’
Their initial rehearsals taking place in the living room of a tenement flat in Glasgow’s East End, Luke and Emme found a shared love for the duetting harmony found in old country music, the cinematic arrangements prominent in psych and desert rock as well as the timeless melodies of sixties and seventies pop. With a first batch of those living room songs in hand, the pair built a world around themselves of beat nicks and wanderers, biblical references fitting of Glasgow’s gritty underside and a vision for The Joy Hotel. Fast forward to late 2021 and the band – now a 7 piece – find themselves in Rockfield Studios recording their debut album ‘Ceremony’ to be released Autumn 2023.
Starting this year by dropping a live performance video of Jeremiah and selling out shows in London, Manchester and Edinburgh, 2023 is the Year of Joy. With a string of songs to be released over spring and summer and the album in autumn the band already have a festival summer that belies the fact that Jeremiah is their debut release.
While Jeremiah hits streaming platforms today, it was released on Wednesday as a very limited run of 50 digital pressing via web3 pioneers Serenade. As well as the title track, collectors received a live version of Jeremiah and a trove of other treasures such as handwritten lyrics, a ‘making of’ video and more delights. The pressing sold out on day of release but might be found on OpenSea or other WEb3 trading platforms if you are so inclined.
The song is accompanied by a video shot, edited and set-built by the band and featuring cameo appearances from members of musical cohorts Medicine Cabinet and Lucia & The Best Boys.
The Joy Hotel live:
May 6th – Glasgow – The Road To Great Escape
May 10th – London – The Victoria
May 11th & 12th – Brighton – The Great Escape
May 20th – Sheffield – Get Together Festival
July 7th – Glasgow TRNSMT Festival
Sept 3rd – BRUIS Festival, Netherlands
More not yet announced
Listen to Jeremiah HERE
Watch Jeremiah video HERE
Watch Jeremiah (Live) HERE
Streaming smart link HERE
Connect with The Joy Hotel