Permanent (Joy) – the new project from former members of Liverpool-based indie band Blondes have released their debut EP ‘Despair Will Make Me A Modern Man’

Following successful tours of the UK and a massive viral hit with Coming Of Age Blondes came to a premature end due to personal circumstances, leaving songwriters Alex Davison and Dan Stroud to embark on a new journey with a moodier and more surreal slant on their band of indie rock. Choosing to begin anew, they were joined by Dave Annis, formerly of Queen Zee and a touring member of Blondes, and bassist Noah Roche under the new name of Permanent (Joy).

Since their initial appearance in September last year the band have released three singles – Josephine, Aeroplane and I Wanna Go Home – and generated enough word-of-mouth buzz to be handpicked as opening act for indie-rock stars Franz Ferdinand in Liverpool earlier this year alongside five recent support shows with meteoric newcomers Inhaler and a further support with Blossoms.

DESPAIR WILL MAKE ME A MODERN MAN EP | TRACK LISTING

Josephine
Aeroplane
Save My Life
I Wanna Go Home
Sometimes
Untitled

Following that busy period of touring as a support act, Permanent (Joy) are launching the release of Despair Will Make Me A Modern Man with a full show at Liverpool Jacaranda on Saturday 8 March as headliners. This will be followed by a showcase session for BBC Introducing Merseyside and an appearance at Liverpool Sound City Festival in May.

Speaking about Permanent (Joy) songwriter Alex says:

“I had grown bored writing songs about myself, and I knew we had to move on as songwriters from the indie pop we made as Blondes. I wanted to do something darker, with more of a story to it. There was an album that we used to sing together in the tour van late at night called ‘In The Aeroplane Over The Sea’ by Jeff Mangum. I loved how he wove this surreal abstract narrative into a beautiful concept album centred around life and death. I knew that, musically, that’s what I wanted to do next. The first single ‘Josephine’ started on an acoustic guitar, and we had this warbly, eccentric string synth from the 80s that had been lent to us. That synth took the song into this world that felt like you were listening to an old memory. That’s how the song was born.”