Night of Joy

In the late summer of 2008, Valerie Franz and Bree Davies found themselves stranded in their home state of Colorado, broken apart and band-less. A chance viewing of Anton Corbijns Control, the story of Ian Curtis/Joy Division, brought the two musicians together and Night of Joy was born. Critic and Denver music archivist Tom Murphy describes Night of Joy as a musical collaboration that takes the buoyant, outré pop of the early Breeders, the post-punk minimalism of Young Marble Giants, and the spidery end of Televisions guitar work and combines it with the latters sharp but palpably emotive vocals.

After a long, awesome and tumultuous run of drummers, Franz and Davies found the missing piece in Fez Garcia, who joined Night of Joy behind the kit in the summer of 2010. The trio's live shows are punchy assaults of short originals salted with a Black Flag and T. Rex Cover or two, and the occasional a capella Mac Dre homage. The band also runs cassette-centric label Teen Pass Out, a completely DIY basement operation that releases tapes by a diverse array of local and national artists.