Altsounds - Journeybox - Story [Album]

Journeybox have managed to balance sweet incandescent vocals with impressive crescendo’s and guitar riffs to create a hauntingly beautiful debut album with a lot more than first meets the ears. The beseeching melancholy lyrics and perfectly placed drums met with absent-minded synths envelope you into an indefinable comfort.

The eleven track debut, created within the depths of Glasgow, has the crisp finish you’d expect further down a band’s release history. Journeybox have seemingly worked hard during studio time to ensure that the album’s beauty is portrayed perfectly, and they have captured a fine rawness without losing quality in sound, ambiance or balance.

The album starts out with ‘Illusions’ which has a lingering aspect, with a simple tapping of the guitar throughout the first verse. Soft vocals creep through: ‘’Where do we go from here? Where do we run? Where is this place I can see?’’ Pete Morrison (Lead Vocalist) with his raw yet delicate voice delivers the words with intent to seep into you, yet Kari Morrison (Keys/Vocals) drops shy piano tones beneath the surface. The track naturally builds a significant sound when John Gallagher (Drums) sends sparks of rhythm over the guitar tap. Journeybox achieve a welcome climax with distorted guitar and vocals that echo the emotion that the lyrics portray.

Moving on to track two, ‘Someday Soon’, a fresh feel is portrayed with the guitar and keys, also a gentle beat steps the listener into a little magical love story. This places you into a little cushion of warmth, but soon breaks into a grunge like feel within the bridge. Shaped with crunchy guitar riffs and distorted melodies, it soon moulds back into the chorus with has a neat, harmonic end.

The generally happy feel shown in ‘Someday Soon’ is quite rare within the album. ‘Story’ however has a real catchy melody with pleasant breaks of Pete’s raspy vocals, and well composed keys. ‘Sleep Goodnight’ is a lullaby that lets you lose yourself as the sounds wash over you. ‘Break Me’ reminds me of listening to Sigur Ros, ‘( )’ for the first time, yet it’s also comparable to Thom Yorke (Radiohead). Again, a ghostly atmosphere is pushed out around you within ‘Break Me’ and it builds to a massive sound which left me astounded.

‘Story’ creates movie like day-dreams, and ironically tell a story. However, the album tends to have one drum beat throughout, which in keeping with its general feel, isn’t a hindrance, as I believe the story Journeybox are telling is one to enjoy for its sensitivity. It seems reminiscent to Damien Rice – ‘O’ and Kari’s harmonies in her backing vocals add a velvety feel to this debut.

All in all the sounds emerging from Journeybox debut are a magical treat, and are deserved a dam good listen!

Journeybox are:
Pete Morrison (Vocals/Guitar)
Kari Morrison (Vocals/Keys)
John Gallagher (Drums)

‘Journeybox – Story’ is available at: HMV (Glasgow), FOPP (Glasgow), Borders (Glasgow) and also iTunes