Album Of The Day: Hello, Mannequin by Joy Electric

"Who are friends?" Released 22 years ago today, this is the ninth album from synthesizer band Joy Electric. Like with most of Joy Electric and primary creator Ronnie Martin's solo releases, it's pretty much all his vocals over various sounds made from his synthesizer, in this case the Roland System 100. A bunch of songs have lyrics talking about communication and technology, like "The Birth Of The Telegram, 1814", "The Phonograph Plays, Part and Parcel" and "Nikola Tesla". Most songs have few lyrics as the music is the focus. The beeps and bloops of this electronic music isn't exactly my favorite, but I certainly admire Ronnie's dedication to a very unique form of musical expression and find it a fun listen on occasion. The sounds vary from beautiful to odd to industrial, sometimes in the same song even. The "Yah!" he cries at the start of "Wolf In The Bend" is ingrained in my brain. Also, I always love the graphic design of Joy Electric albums, and this one is definitely right up there with the pink neon-style cover.
Release Year: 2004
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