KILLJOYE

The Artist

Coach Party is an indie rock four-piece from the Isle of Wight, formed in the late 2010s and fronted by bassist and vocalist Jess Eastwood, alongside guitarists Steph Norris and Joe Perry and drummer Guy Page. The band built their following through a string of EPs that blended fuzzy shoegaze textures, punk energy, and hook-forward indie pop, earning them a reputation as one of the more exciting young British guitar bands of their generation. Their sound sits at the intersection of scrappy DIY grit and polished, radio-friendly melody, with Eastwood's conversational vocals cutting through walls of distortion. KILLJOY is their debut full-length, arriving after years of EP-length statements and heavy touring. It represents their first attempt at a sustained, long-form artistic statement rather than a collection of singles.

The Album

KILLJOY was released in 2023 on Chess Club Records, the label that also helped launch acts like Sundara Karma and MØ. The album was tracked with a focus on preserving the band's live-room energy while giving the guitars more space and heft than their earlier EP work allowed. Production leans into contrast: crunchy, distorted textures butt up against clean pop hooks and moments of unexpected tenderness. Thematically, the record is preoccupied with anger and disillusionment: the frustrations of being a young woman navigating misogyny, the exhaustion of everyday indignities, and the small acts of defiance that make life bearable. It's a debut that trades polish for personality, wearing its irritation and vulnerability with equal confidence.

Listen For

The guitar tone. Coach Party's twin-guitar attack drives the whole record, ranging from shoegaze haze to punk snarl. Notice how the textures shift from song to song without ever losing the band's signature fuzz.

Jess Eastwood's vocal delivery. She moves between deadpan and full-throated within the same song, often selling a lyric through phrasing rather than power. "Parasite" and "Micro Aggression" are good places to hear that range.

Dynamics across the tracklist. The album pairs loud, chorus-driven anthems with quieter, more introspective moments. Track how "July" or "Always Been You" reshape the emotional register around the louder cuts.

The opening statement. "Whats The Point In Life" sets the tone with its blunt title and attitude. Listen to how it frames the record's themes of frustration and fatigue right out of the gate.

Lyrical specificity. Songs like "Micro Aggression," "All I Wanna Do Is Hate," and "Be That Girl" name their grievances directly. Notice how the band uses plain-spoken language to make anger feel relatable rather than performative.