First Joy Turn Heartache Into Atmosphere on There Are Ways To Leave

The Los Angeles duo's debut LP transforms slow-burning nostalgia, shoegaze weight, and emotional precision into one of the year's most compelling alternative rock statements.

What I admire most about There Are Ways To Leave is its sense of restraint. In an era when many shoegaze-adjacent bands bury every emotion beneath layers of distortion, First Joy understand that atmosphere only matters when there's a song underneath it. Their debut LP balances both remarkably well.

Drawing from the space-rock melancholy of Failure and Hum while incorporating the emotional directness of modern acts like Gleemer and Downward, the Los Angeles duo crafts a record that feels expansive without losing its intimacy. Fuzzy guitars stretch across the stereo field, but they're anchored by melodies that linger long after the final chorus fades. The production favors texture over excess, allowing each swell of feedback and each carefully placed hook to serve the songs rather than overwhelm them.

For me, the album's greatest strength is its consistency of mood. Tracks like "Sometimes" and "Little Jokes" demonstrate First Joy's ability to pair dark-toned guitar work with surprisingly warm vocal melodies, creating a tension that drives the entire record forward. Rather than chasing dramatic peaks, There Are Ways To Leave succeeds through accumulation, building an immersive emotional landscape one layered guitar line at a time.

I've heard countless bands attempt to revive '90s alternative rock in recent years. First Joy aren't interested in revivalism. They're using those influences as a foundation for something personal, thoughtful, and quietly affecting. That's what makes this debut feel like the beginning of a much larger story.

Interview with First Joy (Coming Soon!)

There Are Ways To Leave feels deeply rooted in atmosphere. How did you approach balancing texture and songwriting throughout the album?

Songwriting is always the priority, of course. But the texture of the album is almost just as intentional, if not more so paradoxically. Songwriting is very much a practice of just seeing what comes out, and working to make the song the best it can be. So much of the non musical ambience of the album is audio from videos I had on my phone or voice memos, so finding the right sounds and ambience was a really intentional process.

Failure and Hum are clear touchstones, but where do you feel First Joy's sound separates itself from those influences?

Honestly, as much as we like both of those bands, Failure especially, they weren’t massive influences for the songwriting on the record. Those bands are amazing at being really loud and heavy, and it felt more and more like that wasn’t the right direction as I was writing these songs. I feel like the subconscious intent with this record was to avoid being “heavy” as much as possible, unless it felt right for the song. I think there are really only two moments on the record I’d consider “heavy.”

What themes or emotions connected the songs and ultimately shaped the album's identity?

The record is very much a break up record, written during the final months and immediate aftermath of this on and off relationship I was in for about three ish years. But the intent wasn’t to be spiteful, it was meant to be reflective and a bit objective of the whole thing with hindsight. A lot of the lyrics are about my mistakes and flaws as opposed to being about my partners. I didn’t want to be mean in any way, that’s really tired to me. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a spiteful break up song and felt like “wow this really helped me, I relate to this.” I get that feeling more from self reflective stuff. There are a few moments where the record is perhaps a bit blunt or harsh, but it’s honest. The last lyric of the record is a question, so I always felt like that was my way of communicating, “I hold no hatred or ill will for you.”

How did your songwriting process evolve between Unlimited Permanent Bliss and this full-length debut?

Unlimited Permanent Bliss is such a funny release because it was a collection of singles that were released basically annually from 2021 to 2024 that became an EP in the end. Those songs were written over a very long period of time, one of the songs was written in 2018. It was the first song I ever felt like really confident about, and it took 6 years to put out haha. The biggest evolution I guess was intent and cohesion, I wrote the LP all at once with the knowledge all of these songs would be a greater body of work, which I didn’t think about with the EP.

"Sometimes" and "Little Jokes" introduced listeners to the album. What made those songs the right entry points?

“Little Jokes” was the first song written but last song finished for the record. It was originally called “Cinnamon” and had a completely different melody and set of lyrics. It just wasn’t working, so we rewrote it and it became what it is now. We had been playing “Cinnamon” live and it just felt like it was maybe the song most similar to our previous work. So when it was finished it felt like a good first single, so it was kind of a bridge into the sound of record.

“Sometimes” was much more immediate. It felt like a pop song pretty much right away, and we really leaned into that when it became clear that’s what the song wanted to be. It also gave us a bit of freedom. Like, “Oh we can write a pop song with acoustic guitars and oos and ahs, what else can we get away with?”

The record creates a strong sense of emotional distance and longing. Was that intentional from the beginning?

Absolutely, yeah. As I mentioned, the record is all about the same thing, just different aspects of it. I wanted it be relatable, of course, but I wasn’t trying to be. “Plastic Wing” for example, is very much about a very specific night in 2021. It sounds like it’s metaphorical and could be applied to whomevers personal experience, and I suppose it could, but it’s actually incredibly literal.

How did self-producing the album impact the final sound compared to working with outside producers on previous releases?

We’ve always engineered our stuff ourselves, but this is the first time I really felt like I knew what I was doing. Jordan (other member of First Joy) is an incredibly talented producer and engineer, has a great ear for melody and harmony, understands what I’m writing better than anyone, and we’ve been best friends for 15 years. Plus, we live together, so it was incredibly easy for us to just work on the record at home. I think that had the biggest impact on the sound of the record, trusting that we had the ability to do it ourselves with the gear we already have as opposed to going to a studio. It was a big confidence boost really. We also live with our great friend, Jason Inguagiato, who mixes and mastered the record. So the only thing we did outside of our home was record drums.

Were there any songs that changed dramatically during the recording process?

“Little Jokes” for sure, as well as “Curtains.” Musically, both of those songs never changed from the demo, but the lyrics and melody are 100% different from their original state. “Curtains” especially was very close to not making the record, but I trapped myself in my room for hours rewriting the melody and lyrics until I thought it was good enough. I think you can really tell too, it’s my favorite set of lyrics I’ve ever written.

What role did dynamics play in shaping the album's heavier and quieter moments?

They played a huge role! It kind of goes back to what I was saying about heaviness earlier. I didn’t want this record to be heavy all the time, and because of that the moments that lean into heavy are more impactful because of it.

Many modern shoegaze records lean heavily on volume and density. How important was melody in your creative decisions?

This kind of relates to your last question. We definitely have shoegaze elements in our sound but it is not the dominant inspiration for us. I think our early material definitely has more of that dreaminess in it, but I was much more interested in being a bit more direct melodically on this record. Maybe that was inspired by the subject matter.

Looking back at the completed album, what song best represents where First Joy is artistically right now?

I think “Sometimes” and “March Through May” are probably my favorite songs on the record, I think there is a levity to them musically that I am very attracted to right now. There’s an immediacy to them that I think is gonna play a big part in whatever comes next. I’m just now really starting to flirt with the idea of writing again. I’ve finally got to the point where I’ve updated the “first joy inspo” playlist, and it is in the same world as those two songs to me.

Now that the debut LP is out in the world, what lessons from There Are Ways To Leave will influence whatever comes next?

There’s so many things that making this record taught me, both about making art and about myself. But, I think the biggest lesson for me was to not be so precious about ideas. Allowing things to be malleable is incredibly important. I think I’ve gotten pretty good at seeing things past what it is right in front of me and for what they are going to be.

(•)> That's all, Folks! Check out First Joy on the Pigeon Opinion Playlist