S / T

Often considered a little brother to the space-rock trio Earthless, San Diego’s Joy is another power trio with a similar approach to freeform acid-rock jamming. But where Earthless guitarist Isaiah Mitchell has a penchant for blasting off into the stratosphere, Joy’s Zach Oakley leans less on his guitar’s Echoplex tape delay. He creates mind-melting leads that owe more to the psychedelic blues bands of the late '60s and early '70s. “Save My Soul” opens sounding like Oakley could very well be the long-lost son of Blue Cheer’s guitar wizard Leigh Stevens as he effortlessly segues from hard biker blues-rock to lysergic wah-wah antics and steroidal riffs that punch harder than Wayne Kramer’s left hand. Oakley’s six-string pyrotechnics are bolstered by Paul Morrone’s ham-fisted drumming and Justin Hulson’s hard-grooving bass runs. The following “Help Me” throbs and boogies with the weighty aplomb of early Grand Funk Railroad vinyl. Part of the magic of Joy’s 2013 self-titled album is that it’s one of those rare recordings that almost perfectly capture the band's explosive live performances—especially the closing epic “Been So Long.”