Current Joys - A Different Age

Upon the repeating opening chords to "Become the Warm Jets", the listener is lulled into the hazy introspective world of Current Joys' sixth album, A Different Age. Nick Rattigan's carefully honed songcraft is on full display here as we hear the clearest vocals and most polished production of any Current Joys album up to the point of its release. The instrumentals are low-key, minimalist, and repetitive, mostly consisting of clean electric guitar and tastefully layered synths. The repetition, instead of boring the listener, sends them away into the dreamy nostalgic daze which renders the album intoxicating. This consistent mood reaches a boiling point on the title track where the Rattigan muses about the beauty and the pain of being an outsider, or being from "a different age". The song slowly builds to a cathartic instrumental outro which is further amplified by the withdrawn songs before and after.