Fleeting Joys

This is a new video taken from last year's self-released, Despondent Transponder full-length. The album is being re-released by popular demand on the band's own Only Forever Recordings this month. Sac-town's finest band. - Little Radio - Los Angeles

“Of recent things to cross this desk, Fleeting Joys’ five-song demo is a real delight. The epiphanic Spectorian fog works best on “The Breakup,” which plays Rorika’s gossamer vocals and symphonic synth lines against John’s My Bloody Valentine-style guitar sturm und drang over a stellar melody.” - Jackson Griffith

”Fleeting Joys has got the classic My Bloody Valentine Loveless-era sound down to a "t". The dense fog of disorienting guitars, the powerful drums, the hard to understand vocals that could be coming from a man, a woman, or both....it's all here. Seriously, you could pass these 10 songs off as a collection of unreleased My Bloody Valentine tracks and nobody would doubt it…If Fleeting Joys were just copying the style of Kevin Shields and Co. without doing anything interesting with it, it would be easy to just ignore them. However, Fleeting Joys write some truly top notch tunes - "Go and Come Back", "Patron Saint" and the awesome instrumental "I Want More Life - are just as good as anything on Loveless and that is no light praise.” - David Mansdorf

“This Sacramento band has created the best shoegaze/ dream pop album since the genre's mid-1990s heyday. All the elements are here: co-ed ethereal vocals, thick baselines, atmospheric keys, straightforward percussion and (most important!) the guitars. Reverb-soaked and dissonant, they seem to bend in and out of tune, while enveloping the listener like crashing waves.

Some would argue that this is derivative. I say Fleeting Joys has breathed new life into the genre, creating a sort of nu-gaze that'll have all Slowdive enthusiasts gushing.

The Breakup is a great opener: Up-beat and ridiculously catchy, it sets the tone for what's to come. Lovely Crawl slows things down, with a sadder feel. Go and Come Back is a gorgeous tune, with an effective, repeated guitar line.

Every song is a keeper, including the two ambient instrumentals (I Want More Life, Young Girls Fangs), the heavy, dense rockers (Satellite, Patron Saint) and slower, sad songs (While I'm Waiting, Where Do I End). Magnificent Oblivion stands out, with a string arrangement that's chopped up for rhythmic effect.

These songs are as good, if not better, than My Bloody Valentine. If that's sacrilegious, then I'm blasphemous. I just call 'em as I see 'em.

Here's hoping these locals go big.” - Langdon Christensen

”Has anyone heard of Fleeting Joys? Just got hold of an album of theirs today called 'Despondent Transponder' and its a belter. It sounds like the next step on from 'Loveless', all layered guitar sounds here, breathless vocals there. Definitely recommended if that’s your bag. I Want More Life!!!! is absolutely awesome…also Patron Saint and While I'm Waiting, but there isn't really a bad track on the whole album to be honest.” - Dom Gourlay

“Sacramento’s Fleeting Joys were as massive and raw as I expected them to be, which made for a great live experience. You could hear them down the street with their super heavy low-end bass and wall-of-sound guitar warping. Obviously these guys are really into My Bloody Valentine, but the fire cracking drum attack and consistent pop feel of their songs gave it a refreshing take on a sound that is sorely missed.”
- Autopia Music 2006

Quit holding your breath for the My Bloody Valentine reunion. Fleeting Joys has all the rich, creamy MBV goodness you love with zero grams of trans fat and they’re totally spreadable. I Can’t Believe It’s Not My Bloody Valentine, Friday at the UCLA Coop.
- www.lanews.com/los_angeles/losanjealous

With one surprisingly mature LP, Despondent Transponder, released on the band's own Only Forever Recordings, the duo of John (vintage surf guitars) and Rorika (sturdy basses and electronics), along with guest drummer Matt McCord, is all set to pay a visit to this week's Live in Studio A program on KDVS 90.3 FM.

Depending on your mood, their dreamy squalls of texture may sound like field recordings of whale dialogue or, you know, a rich tapestry of melancholia.

While the band will be drawing on the 10 compositions that make up DT (with titles like "Young Girls' Fangs" and "Magnificent Oblivion," if that helps give you an idea of FJ's sound) anyone who has attempted to cover, say, MBV's "Only Shallow" knows just how difficult it can be to reproduce the Creation Records circa '91 drone.
- Brandon Broussellini

Magnificent Oblivion is a masterpiece. It is showering down atop all of L.A. right now as we speak and it is nice! - Scott, DJ

“I first heard about the Fleeting Joys on an MBV site, hit their MySpace page, heard one song, and immediately ordered their CD (which was produced and is sold by the band). Now I buy a lot of music and listen to recommendations and online radio constantly, and generally, I'll check something out, let it simmer, put it on as mood dictates, and then move on to something else. After receiving "despondent transponder" on a Saturday morning, I immediately threw it on. Upon hearing the first few seconds of "The Breakup", I began recalling the first time I heard "Only Shallow" and I knew that the Fleeting Joys were not just another MBV-guitars with none of the song structure band. They were the real deal. After listening to their sonic waves lap over me for thirty-six minutes and seven seconds, I reached over and hit repeat because I just didn't want the sensation to stop.

Now, most MBV-like bands can get the sonics right, but they can't get the songcraft and melody as strong as Kevin Shields million-dollar masterpiece. Upon listening to the Fleeting Joys songs on repeat, there were subtle melodies, vocals, and structures I completely missed the first time, making for rich, warm-textured soundscapes that complimented their already catchy, lovely songs. Which is to say, if somebody had leaked this as MBV's new album, the most dedicated and cantakerous shoegaze fans would be hailing it as proof that the band never lost it. Except in this case, "despondent transponder" is Fleeting Joys' first album, which makes it that much more unbelievable and astounding an acheivment. It is the closest thing to the MBV Loveless sound I have ever heard, and I think (okay, I know) the band would be proud to hear people say that about it.

The album starts off with one of the strongest of the strong tracks, "The Breakup", which showcases the dreamy vocals and swirling guitars of Rorika and John Loring. Boy/girl singing, happy guitar drones, and an extended outro consisting of blissful tones - there is no doubt about what musical territory we have just reentered. If this album had had just this song on it, I would've been happy, but they felt that they had to crank up the ecstasy over the course of nine more songs. The whole album begs to be played on repeat repeatedly, but standout tracks include "While I'm Waiting" and the final track "Patron Saint", but that's if I absolutely have to pick favorites and most likely I will hear something in one of the other tracks and it will displace my top three. There are so many little guitar flourishes and velvety sheets of pedal-bloomed noise that will pull you towards them every time you out it on, and whatever your path through, you'll feel a whole lot more cheery, as if just given a sonic massage. If you like MBV, shoegaze, dream pop, sonic bliss, guitar noise or just well-crafted albums that just might renew your faith in music, you owe it to yourself to pick up Fleeting Joys "despondent transponder" (check out their MySpace page for samples - they can be found in my "friends" within my profile). I don't often gush about new bands, but I will be talking this one up for the rest of this year.” - Brian Mitsoda