Jolly is a relatively new band on the Metal scene. The group plays a rather heavy brand of Progressive Rock and Metal, sometimes bordering the kind of Alternative Rock one might hear on the heavier mainstream stations that still rock acts like Nirvana. With their debut album, The Audio Guide to Happiness, Pt. 1, Jolly has been sweeping up review sites and Metal tabloids with plenty of honors left and right. There's no way to say that this album won't make you happy in any way, but is it really as good as everyone seems to be making it out to be?
The first thing about The Audio Guide to Happiness, Pt. 1 that stands out immediately is the production quality, and how the band presents the recording. All of this plays into the conceptual aspect of the album's title, that being it is supposed to be a literal guide to happines, sort of a self-help audio presentation in Progressive Rock/Metal format. The CD starts out with a soothing females voice introducing you to the recording, and announcing that you are about to enter chapter one, concluding "Guidance One", and going right into some edgy Progressive Rock music. The band's stylish sound and production quality perfectly suits the concept, though it does give off a slightly darker atmosphere then one might expect given the band and album name. Immediate comparisons can be made to subtle Industrial-like keyboards like Orgy, but without going too heavy or over the top, and in some cases those keyboards reflect a more beautiful sound, like those on "Joy" which immediately present a clear, somber, tear filled atmosphere. This song, and many others, will also bring out visions of the Adult Contemporary band Ours, primarily in the vocal approach. While not as eccentric at times, with the vocals being more restrained to a soothing clean singing of a normal, slightly deep tone that always perfectly matches the keyboards, but never afraid to reach up to a higher, slightly nassally falsetto for a few words.
The music on the release never really jumps around, which is another plus. While I don't mind bands that randomly go from one style or speed to another, Jolly manages to retain the same kind of musical presence for each song, but retains a more artsy feel to some of their tracks. "Joy" had a great keyboard approach that made the song have a slight Melodic Death Metal feel at times, meanwhile "Storytime" is such a soft song that it feels like casual Progressive Rock song with atmosphere being created by the keyboard that is soothing and matches the "Storytime" name of the song. "The Pattern" is also a much heavier song, and also ends with a rather entertaining breakdown that one could assume to be a band that is a little mainstream, and not quite edgy enough to be called Metalcore, as well as doesn't include the two-step signature of the style. This is one of the major positives of the recording, as the band manages to weave such a creative album and explore so many different styles while retaining a Progressive approach really shows the talent that they have as a group.
With the second half of the album, Jolly takes things into a different direction once the female voice instructs you to be ready to reach the next phase. Once "Guidance Two" ends, the music becomes much lighter, and takes on an atmosphere that feels like a dream, as if relaxing and letting go to enter into a more tranquil state of mind. Of course, the deeper you get into the track "Radiae", the music does get a little heavier, but it eventually goes back into that tranquil state of presence as the female voice again warns you that you are about to transition and become a true candidate for happiness in a soft, echoey voice. as the song ends, and what feels like you have infact transitioned, the atmosphere of the music shifts to a more reminiscent atmosphere, taking on a more Alternative Rock vibe to the music that suits a recollection, though the guitars sometimes do feel a little heavier then they should be, especially given the keyboards that come with the song that feel more joyous and fun, slightly clashing with that edge the song has. This does happen again during the song "Where Everything's Perfect", which finds the music becoming distorted, sounding rather evil and cruel, demented if you will. The sudden shift in music feels a little odd, but ultimately becomes part of the flow for the guide as, once again, the mood of the album shifts to what sounds like a dark and rainy environment, ushering in a very bleak ending to the album that is meant to give happiness. Obviously, by the title of the last track, "Intermission", as well as the title, Part 1 will definitely not be the end of such a unique experience.
There's really nothing bad that could possibly be said about this aside the guitars that feel a little too heavy on "Radiae", but given the shift that occurs later in chapter two, it could very well be a potential thing. The music is very well composed, and goes along perfectly with the whole self help program idea of finding happiness. Each track on here winds up being it's own little experience, and the gradual shift in moods from each little chunk towards the ending really makes it feel like you happen to be on this self exploratory trip through the audio disc. Jolly does a fantastic job with this release, and The Audio Guide to Happiness Pt. 1 deserves every positive word said or typed about it. Whether or not Progressive Rock or Metal is your thing, this album truly is a unique experience that breathes fresh air into the music world that is growing stale of bands that prefer to have musical spasms in their songs to be called Progressive. Whatever your tastes in music, if you give this release the time it deserves, there's no question that you will be on your own path to happiness.
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