Album Review: Joanovarc - "Invisible Enemy"

 

Back for their third album, it's fair to say that this might just be "do or die" time for Joanovarc. After a very promising debut in 2016's Ride Of Your Life, its self-titled 2019 follow-up unfortunately saw them losing a bit of momentum with a sophomore effort which seemed to be a bit too overpolished for its own good and lacking the immediacy of the debut. Line-up instability would set in soon afterwards and three years later as we approach album number three, guitarist Shelley Walker is the only remaining member from the second album line-up. Safe to say, the stakes are high here.

Joanovarc's solution, it would seem, is to go heavier which isn't a bad idea. The two opening tracks here, Invisible Enemy and the title track, pack in pounding drums and riffs to elevate the group up to a new level of ferocity which it could be argued is badly needed. New singer Hazel Rogers has the right mix of a purr/growl to her voice to give the material a radio-friendly sheen but also pack enough aggression in that it doesn't threaten to go too soulless and glossy while the new rhythm section of Keira Kenworthy and Aimi P are locked in tight, giving the likes of Guilty a hard-hitting punch which makes them jump out of the stereo. Mister Mister's angry MeToo message shows that they aren't afraid of speaking their minds either although the attempt to go nu-metal on 6 Feet Deep is an attempt at trying something different which doesn't really work unfortunately. Thankfully the sky-surfing riff of Here I Go is quickly on hand to right the ship afterwards.

Isolation has a chugging Alice In Chains style riff underpinning it which, combined with Rogers' melodic vocals, is reminiscent of a Evanescence minus the OTT histrionics before crashing into a big headbanging race to the finish. Diosas Verdes goes into psychedelic territory with the waves of guitars and pounding tribal drums before the moody Day By Day ends up being one of the best tracks on the album so far with its quiet/loud dynamic working well to build it up. Rain On Mondays is a full-on These Dreams era Heart style power ballad complete with strings but at least the girls have got the chops to pull this one off without it getting too saccharine which just leaves the six minute epic Flying Free (which sails dangerously close to NWOCR territory but luckily packs enough individuality to avoid sinking into the dreaded Scarlet Rebels/Massive Wagons territory) and the mournful slow-building Nothing Left To Say to close this one out. 

Joanovarc deserve a lot of credit for pulling themselves back from the abyss with this album which shows that the new line-up definitely has plenty of fight in it (although with supreme irony, illness within the group has seen them back out touring with their original line-up in recent months while waiting for various members to recuperate). Showing a heavier side to their repertoire but one which is tempered with a good sense of melody, they've done well here. What the future holds for them at the moment isn't exactly clear but whichever line-up they end up touring this album with, at least they can rest easy knowing that they've got a good set of songs that you can see either line-up doing justice to.  

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