Joey Nix Another Way to Do It LP
Cleveland’s JOEY NIX, also of MA HOLOS and SHITBOX JIMMY, presents fifteen songs in the garage/power pop wheelhouse. Originally out on cassette from HM R&T in 2019, Just Because has put Another Way to Do It on vinyl. With the use of an acoustic guitar throughout, this album brings to mind the carefree qualities of Muswell Hillbillies-era KINKS, with NIX’s “Small Reward” even having some lyrical similarities to “Alcohol.” “Purple Peet” gets the most experimental with a nervous rhythm, a squeaky fiddle, and Mark E. Smith-styled vocals. “Jousting” blasts that acoustic guitar through a blown-out amp and has the most grit, with snarled vocals—at a minute-and-a-half, I want it to keep going! “I’m a plumber at night / And a janitor by the day” is crooned softly throughout “Jobs,” with a melancholic harmonica in the background producing a tender love song and another dimension to this multifaceted album. Admittedly, we’re a little late to the party, as this re-release came out in October of 2022, but not so much that we can’t shine a light on this excellent album that is lighthearted, heartfelt, clever, and catchy.