“We store our amps and gear in our mom’s basement – that’s where we go to practice and write”: Joyer combine sweet pop hooks with tension, weirdness and gritty guitar solos – and their mom can't get enough of it

Guitarists Nick and Shane Sullivan, who lead the East Coast-based shoegaze/bedroom pop band Joyer, credit their parents with providing them a solid musical education.

“They were into so much music, starting with the ’60s and ’70s classic rock and stretching into the ’90s and alternative rock,” Shane says. “We heard all of it – everyone from the Beatles to the Feelies. I think that created a through‑line for all the bands Nick and I got into on our own.”

Nick points to bands like Velocity Girl, Yo La Tengo and Lillies as touchstones for tone and style.

“We like how they’re able to blend a lot of different genres and sounds,” he says. “That’s important when you’re trying to take the whole shoegaze thing and move it forward in less traditional ways.”

Joyer’s new album, On the Other End of the Line…, is full of shape-shifting alt-rock that builds on the pop sensibilities of their 2024 debut, Night Songs. When it comes to guitar solos, however, the Sullivan brothers are decidedly on the side of noise.

On Spell, Shane interrupts the toe-tapping hooks with a shrieking, single-note lead break, and on the jangle epic Cure, he rips out a wild-ass, fuzzed-out flurry of notes that recalls the ragged approach of one of his heroes, J Mascis.

“I always loved the way he would create tension and weirdness during the middle of a pop song,” Shane says. “Overall, the big idea was to have more grit to the guitar solos, whenever possible.”

Joyer - Spell (Live from the Basement) - YouTube

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When they’re not touring, the brothers live in separate cities (Nick in Philadelphia and Shane in Brooklyn), but rather than sending song files back and forth, they head back to their hometown of Nutley, New Jersey, to write and jam.

“We feel so lucky that our mother still lives in the house we grew up in,” Nick says. “We store our amps and gear in the basement, and that’s where we go to practice and write. It’s a great place to get away from everyone and lock in without worrying about being too loud.”

Shane laughs. “It doesn’t hurt that our mom is our biggest fan. She’s the coolest.”

• On the Other End of the Line is out now via Winspear
• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.