Live Review

Joywride – Madame Jo Jos, London

• 27th Nov 2012

Madame JoJo’s played hostess on Thursday night to up and coming four piece band Joywride as we were invited down to the central London boutique venue for an evening overflowing with glossy hooks and unique showmanship.

The band consists of eccentric and extrovert front man Ollie Wride, mullet donning guitarist Josh Dally, bleach blonde female bassist Polly Kavanagh and energetic drummer James Cross. Together they are quite unlike any other band out there.

Situated in the heart of Soho, Madame JoJo’s was the ideal venue to spark the beginning of glam pop’s newest offspring. Though the set was brief it contained enough songs for the outfit to drill in their hard hitting pennings while they provided a visually outstanding performance spectacle.

With an EP doing well to boost the bands profile and an album in the works, Joywride set to the stage to perform songs featured on both releases. Starting out with ‘21st Century Love’ we got our first taste of Joywride with a hook heavy and incredibly catchy glam pop hit. While band members Poppy, James and Josh provided a thorough instrumental backbone to the track Ollie tore through the song with confidence and pizazz, pacing the small stage with an almost Freddie Mercury inspired strut.

‘This Isn’t Paradise’ saw the front man pull out his keytar and perform with his band members giving the night an even higher dosage of eighties nostalgia, a retro quality that coated the entire set.

While each of the members of Joywride appeared at the top of their game it was the bands electric front man that really shone for us throughout the set. Clearly a well practiced performer, we were treated to some of the most outstanding vocals that we have heard in quite a while. He held that stage like a lion, prancing and flexing both his body and his voice for the crowd and at one point when bassist Poppy Kavanagh was setting up her instrument, filled in the gap by having a sing-off with the crowd, unleashing a series of scales gradually getting high and higher, showcasing his incredible range and a power house voice that sat somewhere not far far from the likes of Freddie Mercury or Justin Hawkins of The Darkness. His talent was further shown when he took to a keyboard at the side of the stage for the sets encore inclusion’People Like You And Me’ which was drenched in eighties inspired hooks and sung predominantly in Wride’s skilled falsetto soaked vocals.

It wasn’t just Ollie that stood out for us. The bands bassist, Poppy Kavanagh, clearly a crowd favourite following the audiences roar of approval when the bands introductions were carried out, was exceptional. Songs like the catchy and bass heavy ‘Headrush’ and ‘Thunder Kiss’ allowed he performer to shine as she donned a wave of bleached blonde hair that looked very similar to Roxette front woman Marie Fredriksson when she carried the iconic hairstyle back in the eighties.

They had just the right amount of camp fuelled panache to keep us interested throughout their showcase without allowing any of their eccentricities to eclipse their music.

Joywride are a well oiled retro freight train of catchy hooks, memorable looks and soaked in a talent that will likely cast them into the mainstream when their album is released in the new year.

Setlist:
21st Century Love
This Isn’t Paradise
Pop Music
Headrush
Thunder Kiss

Encore:
People Like You And Me

Venue: Madame Jo Jos, London
Support Band: Guests