Death Party Playground Finds Joy Despite Pain
Death Party Playground is a power pop rock n roll band hailing from Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The band has been working together since 2013 to forge their original and authentic brand of power pop. Separately, the members of the band all have some serious musical chops. While they have several smaller releases and a “best of” compilation on their Bandcamp, their LP Little Joy is what they consider their debut release. The album is made up of tracks that take influences from the past but still manage to feel fresh.
To be completely honest, I am wholly unfamiliar with power pop as a concept. I usually avoid pop music like the plague and haven’t listened to the radio since before the days of Napster. I’m not saying that I didn’t enjoy this album, I’m just saying that my frame of reference for Death Party Playground’s sound might be different than that of their usual audience. That being said, let’s talk about Little Joy.
The Overall Sound
It’s really hard to nail down an overall sound for this record. One track will be full of synths that remind me of something out of the eighties and another will have a cool fifties vibe. I can say that the production is clean as a whistle and the mixes on these tracks are pretty much perfect. In my experience, there is a fine line between “eclectic” and “all over the place”. The difference there is the skill with which all the disparate pieces are put together. Little Joy is definitely an eclectic collection of sounds.
I don’t think you can listen to this album and not feel it. Even if you’re not connecting with the lyrics on an emotional level, it’s easy to just vibe with Death Party Playground. Most of the songs have their own unique sound but they all contain the same infectious groove. If you’re not studying the lyrics, this would be a great album for a little music therapy at the end of a long day. A couple drinks and a this album will improve just about any mood.
The Real Unifying Concept
The one thing that ties this album together is the lyrical content. I said you could just vibe to this record if you weren’t studying the lyrics because doing so changes the whole experience. These lyrics seem very personal. Most of them deal with loss and moving on. To my ears, it sounds like an album mostly populated by breakup songs. Not in the usual whiny self-righteous way, though. The lyrics depict a man who has been hurt but doesn’t wish ill on his former partner. It’s a mature look at relationships and loss that seems to be rare in the grand scheme of things. Instead of an emotional journey to the depths of melancholy, you get the bared soul of a man just trying to move on from someone he thought was “the one”. I’m sure plenty of us have been there at least once.
In short, the songs on this album may be sonically eclectic but the soulful, honest, and relatable lyrics really tie everything together like a good rug.
Standout Tracks
While this whole LP is packed with poppy goodness, there are a couple tracks that really stand out to me.
Love and Fidelity
Death Party Playground know how to kick off an album, that’s for damned sure. This sounds like something that would have been on the top of the charts in the heyday of pop rock. The guitar work on this track is killer. It reaches out and grabs you from the first note. The song closes with a great keyboard solo followed by some woah-ohs. I honestly didn’t even know keyboard solos were a thing that could be cool Good on you, Death Party Playground, good on you.
Bright New
I love the way this track opens. It starts with a bass line, then the drums come in, followed by some understated keys. By the time the guitars and vocals dropped in, I was already hooked on this track. To my ears, this is one of the more rock-heavy songs on the album. The mellow instrumentals behind crooning vocals remind me a little bit of Bush. I liked Bush back in the day, so this is a nice little throwback for me.
I think my favorite part of this track is how goddamn melancholy it is. Seriously, “Bright New” is the saddest damned track on the album. The main bit of the chorus is, “You’ll have bright new days to come even after all we’ve said and done, but I’m never going to last alone”. That’s one heavy line. It’s one that I think anyone who has ever been through a big breakup would be able to relate to. Not only does this song have a great groove, it’ll also hit you in your feelings.
Final Thoughts
All in all, would I recommend this album? Definitely. I may not be super familiar with the genre where Death Party Playground is at home, but I do know quality tunes when I hear them. Whether you’re having a drink after a long day or having a good cry after having your heart stomped on by an ex, Little Joy is a solid soundtrack.
Hopefully you saw that the whole album is available to stream within this article and you’re already listening to it. If you want to check this one out on the go, you can find it on Soundcloud and Spotify. If you’re not big on streaming media, you can always buy a copy of the album. Either way, you’ll be sure to get some joy out of Little Joy.