It is difficult for a band to start again. Very few bands have suffered the loss of band members, changed their name, and still fared quite so well. New Order is the most obvious example, but other than them? Black Grape got Shaun Ryder a Number One, but faded pretty soon after; Dead and Company are essentially the Grateful Dead covering their own songs. In the face of these uncertain odds, who would risk it?

Blondes were your typical 2020s indie band. Standard lyrics about growing up and young love? Check. A noticeably clean sound? Check. A TikTok viral hit whose streaming numbers stick out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of their catalogue? Check. They were a band that you could say ‘had an ear for melody’, or any other cliches, and that was as far as it went. They were good – and judging by the videos, a band worth watching live – but it always felt like they were knocking at the door of something greater.

Enter: Permanent (Joy). Formed by former Blondes songwriters Alex Davison and Dan Stroud, Permanent (Joy) feel like a band ready to succeed. Both their sound and lyrics have matured since their previous project, taking inspiration from Jeff Mangum and Thom Yorke alike. Their first single, ‘Josephine’, echoes the warm memories of Bon Iver’s ‘For Emma’, the words picking at an optimistic love mired in existentialism. On ‘Sometimes’, a track from their EP (releasing on March 7), lead singer Davison errs on the right side of a Healy/Fender impression, the band bringing an instrumental atmospheric enough to rise above its assumed inspirations.

In an interview with Muse, Davison asserted how the formation of the band gave a newfound freedom to the EP: ‘I think the EP is really interesting because we had lots of different ideas as the band was taking shape because there was sort of a complete freedom to do whatever we wanted. I’m really pleased with how the campaign’s going in terms of being able to put out ‘Josephine’ and have a great response, and then being able to put out a song like ‘I Want to Go Home’, which is quite different, but has been reviewed in a great way for different reasons.

‘In terms of influences, because we were sort of trying lots of different things, the Neutral Milk Hotel thing was something that kind of influenced a couple of songs, being primarily ‘Josephine’ and ‘Airplane’. And then there were other influences that we had the freedom to just try and see if we could bring it all together in the same world.

‘I think the biggest influence of In the Airplane Over the Sea was the idea that I wanted to write an EP that was character-based rather than exclusively autobiographical, because I did a bit of that with Blondes and I wanted to try something different. Like I said, it was this whole point where we could do anything, so I was like, I love the way that In the Airplane Over the Sea is all about these characters that are a bit surreal, and you don’t fully get what’s going on.

‘I don’t think we’ve ever really thought like, “oh, well, we can’t do that because this is what Permanent (Joy) is.” We’ve not put any limitations on anything.

‘I think it’s always been like, let’s try things and then see if we can bring it into the same world, whether that’s through the lyrics or through the kind of production of it. But yeah, there’s no real sort of aim other than just like make music that we love and in the process make the band the absolute best that it can be.’

Beyond their studio work, Permanent (Joy) are making strides in the realm of live music. Between opening for the legendary Franz Ferdinand and being welcomed regulars at the Jacaranda Club (where the Beatles played their first gig), the band aim to build upon their successes, supporting Inhaler across the UK, whilst opening for Blossoms in March. About the Jacaranda, Davison and bass-player Noah Roche agreed on its importance to the band:

‘The Jacaranda is like a second home for us, musically. We have our rehearsal room and then we have the Jacaranda where we sort of like, that’s just, you know, it’s kind of where we live. We’ve got this EP launch show on the 8th of March and it will be the first time that we’re doing the Jac as headliners.

‘It’s quite nice being there all the time and finally doing a proper top billing where we’ll get a full set rather than a support slot. And I think it’s going to be a really good night. I’m really looking forward to it.’

We also momentarily raved about Alex Kapranos, who I saw fronting Franz Ferdinand in a pink silk shirt at a Czech festival a few years ago. ‘He looks so cool,’ Davison added, ‘My girlfriend was there, she was like, “he sort of like gives me a vibe, like he’s a vampire”.’

As far as can be told, Permanent (Joy) are doing everything in their power to make this band a success. Though it may feel like an uphill struggle for them, having to reinvent themselves and reintegrate into the hearts of fans, the task is not so difficult for listeners. They have grounded themselves in familiarity: their name is taken from a Joy Division compilation; their EP artwork inspired by Stanley Donwood’s work for Radiohead. Permanent (Joy) offer a promising evolution of the Blondes sound, and it will be interesting to see where this newfound invigoration and energy will take them next.

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