r/CurrentJoys

I've always “liked” Current Joys. But that's mostly because some of their albums match well with Duster fans and I love duster. I also like Surf Curse and I can just tell by the sheer amount of music Nick has made and the way he acts that he's a genius with music — just maybe not *always* with the type of music I would listen to almost daily. And that's okay, yknow everyone has their music tastes. But I listened to CJ's single the other day and, well, it's hard to not notice how different it was. I actually liked It quite a bit. Fast forward a few days later and I see the controversy within the community, as expected, even as (mostly) an outsider looking in. But I'm making this post because I just listened to CJ's new music they played in a show recently. And I've gotta say, it was actually amazing. Like what the heck??? I was blown away. This album may transform me to an avid CJ fan lol. So what's up with actual “avid” CJ fans not liking it?? Sure, HOLE, was weird (take weird how you would like it), but the other stuff they've made is awesome so far. So I want to know the why. Why do a number of fans not like the new music? Do you guys know something I don't?

I can’t stop listening to this song and I’m hoping it’s one of the songs he’s releasing in his next album 🙏

Imo my fave are

Me Oh My Mirror - CJ

A Different Age - CJ

The Horror - Franco Years​

The whole debate about Nick’s current musical direction alienating “real” CJ fans prompted me to make this post. Nick has constantly been evolving his sound throughout the years. His most popular sound, objectively, is the 2013-2015 bedroom pop/DIY era. Unfortunately, the chances of him returning to that style in newer projects is unlikely, but at least fans of this sound have a solid collection of songs to go back to.

However, much like the name of this project, Nick experiments with different sounds and styles based on what his current joys are. My personal favorite era was A Different Age and Voyager — this era felt the most dynamic while being emotionally gripping for me. When Love + Pop came out, I shared many similar feelings with fans of his previous sound. It wasn’t until East My Love came out that I gained an appreciation for Nick’s creativity and his desire to expand his sound with each release.

CJ fans are those who appreciate and respect Nick’s choices to experiment, for they can decide which era and style appeals to them best; anyone can still love an artist even when they don’t like some albums/sounds as much as others. So the argument I’ve seen that his current approach to ROSEBUD will “alienate CJ fans” doesn’t hold any ground.

Now, I do agree that lyrically, “HOLE” didn’t resonate with me. However, I’m excited to hear how he’ll incorporate different influences and references in future tracks; to me, the distortion in “HOLE” juxtaposes nicely with the delivery of the lyrics. With this being his first album released under his own label, he will able to push his creativity into different territories as he sees fit. And even if ROSEBUD as a whole doesn’t click for me when it comes out, I know I still have my favorite albums to return to.

TL; DR — We are all fans of CJ for different reasons, and even if we don’t like everything Nick releases, we can always go back to our favorite singles/EPs/albums.

Am i going insane or does it seem like a once supremely talented artist has been replaced by a clone

Edit: I don’t mind that he’s changing sound, i care that the music is bad. His music had already changed from the early days, but this new change is for the worse, and that’s a first for him

People who genuinely prefer his fried auto tune to his natural voice, wtf? And why would you defend that direction

I saw on recent setlists he's been playing New York City, Bloody and It's Getting Cold in the City (all 3 are very rare songs to be heard live).

Please post videos here if you've got any of these recorded at his most recent shows in Europe!

Is he playing solo or with a band?