j.o.y.s. is both the moniker of and the debut self-titled LP by the Los Angeles based artist Ramon Narvaez. j.o.y.s. is an acronym for “jump out of your skin”. While the phrase can conjure moments of shock and surprise, Narvaez, however uses the phrase as a foot lamp illuminating a path towards momentary transcendence through creating beautifully conjured ambient music that recalls work by Daniel Lanois, suss, Dean Hurley and Tim Hecker. While the pedal steel is prominent, j.o.y.s., as a project, is more in conversation with shoegaze and noise than what has recently been deemed ambient country. Heavy brutalist slabs of noise, swirling feedback create the sound bed of these songs. Collaborator Justin Gaynor’s pedal steel on this album operates as important connective tissue as both the road and the traveler between the light and shadow zones. Drones are wrapped in distortion, processed just below the threshold where we’d throw the word “harsh” around. Rather, there is a delicate dance between Gaynor’s top-rope pedal steel lines - always sweet and always just a bit mournful - with Narvaez’s ringing bass notes and noise chatter. j.o.y.s. revels in intransigence. Nothing can last. As Matt Colquhoun puts in the introduction to Mark Fisher’s heartbreaking Ghosts of My Life - our identity and relationship to the past are “portals in perpetual collapse”. Depression, friendship, longing are all briefly satiated while in the peak experience of creating something as a response to them. But even that is impermanent. These sounds - improvised, exploratory, ecstatic - are eventually edited, whittled down and pressed to wax - not tombs but portals to the past.
Release date:
April 4, 2025
Label:
Install our app to receive notifications when new upcoming releases are added.

Recommended equipment and accessories
-
Vinyl Care - Top Picks
A selection of accesories to keep your turntable equipment & vinyl records in the best shape
-
Vevor Ultrasonic Cleaner
Thoroughly clean and restore your vinyl records, removing dust, dirt, and grime from every groove without damaging the surface
-
Turntables - Top Picks
A selection of reliable record players you can buy today, for every budget
-
Technics SL-1500C Turntable
Features a direct-drive motor, a high-precision tonearm, and a premium MM cartridge, delivering exceptional sound quality
-
Ortofon 2M Red Cartridge
Features an elliptical stylus that accurately tracks the grooves of vinyl records, delivering a rich, detailed sound with an output voltage of 5.5 mV
Featured Upcoming Vinyl
-
Caroline caroline 2
Rough Trade
May 30, 2025 -
Mark Pritchard & Thom Yorke Tall Tales [2xLP]
Warp Records
May 9, 2025 -
Liam Finn Hyperverse (Deluxe Edition)
Schoolkids Records
June 20, 2025 -
U.S. Girls Scratch It
4Ad
June 20, 2025 -
Senna Stranger to Love (Crystal Clear)
Sharptone Records
May 23, 2025 -
Jeffrey Runnings Piqued [2xLP]
Independent Project Records, LLC
July 11, 2025 -
Saxon Eagles Over Hellfest (Silver) [2xLP]
Warner Bros UK
June 20, 2025 -
Fallujah Xenotaph (Red Black Swirl)
Nuclear Blast
June 13, 2025 -
Jisoo Amortage; Heart Version (Photobook, Sticker + Poster)
Yg Entertainment
June 6, 2025 -
Brian Eno/Beatie Wolfe Luminal (BioVinyl)
Verve
June 6, 2025 -
Behemoth The Shit Ov God (Clear)
Nuclear Blast
May 9, 2025 -
James McMurtry The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy
New West Records
June 20, 2025 -
Azzurro 80 Flashback
Four Flies
May 16, 2025 -
Willi Carlisle Winged Victory
Signature Sounds
June 27, 2025