10.06.23 – By Shea Roney

Joey Nebulous is not like any band you have heard before. Fronted by Joseph Farago, the band has taglined themselves as a “fun gay freaky pop band” and they kind of nailed it on the head. Hailing from Chicago, Joey Nebulous has become a staple in the midwest and with their new album, Joey Spumoni Creamy Dreamy Party All The Time, released today, the band sets out to make a promise to lively pleasure and effortless escape. With Farago’s soprano melodies, the band’s mechanical tightness, insanely catchy pop hooks and retro sounds, Joey Spumoni Creamy Dreamy Party All The Time is a collection of songs about dreams, crushes, pop culture, favorite foods, and parties in hell that are all packaged neatly in prominent and forthright queer pop diddies.

The project Joey Nebulous was born in Farago’s college dorm room in 2015. With a few lineup switches, the band has found its core members Margaret McCarthy (keys), Logan Novak (drums) and Wilson Brehmer (bass.) “Close friends lead to close knit pop bands” as my grandpa always says. With Joey Spumoni Creamy Dreamy Party All The Time being the band’s first release off of Dear Life Records, an 18 track album nonetheless, the band has been teasing us with a handful of singles offering a glimpse into Joey Nebulous’s colorful carousel of sounds and cheeky lyrics. 

The lead singles, “Joey’s Tour” and “Dancefloor,” though different in sonic exploration, still hold such a joyous and buoyant feeling. “Joey’s Tour” was written in the midst of lockdown, leading Farago to let his imagination run. In a time when interactions were purely technological, Farago fantasized of the time he could finally travel the country in the search of romance, beguilement and some possible smooches from boys he just met. As a champion of pop melodies, “Joey’s Tour” is a youthful and energetic song of human connection. “Dancefloor” finds the band mellowing out on a track sung by keyboardist Margaret McCarthy about wanting to dance with your crush. As the harmonies follow behind, “Dancefloor” becomes a simple sway. “Then you ask me to dance and the music is blaring / But how could I ever say no?” McCarthy sings in a lovely tone. It’s a simple reminder that the world would be a better place if everyone would leave their cares behind and burn up the dance floor.

A retro drum beat kicks off the opening track “Lasagna” until Farago’s falsetto voice comes in with, “If we’re listening to a pop song / Then it’s DJ Khalid’s / If we’re buying eggs / Then we’re making egg salad.” Just barely over a minute, the song encapsulates the full and unique sound of Joey Nebulous. With the blend of synth levels, the low register of an acoustic guitar and the clinking of the drum beat all lean into both twee and power pop residencies. 

“Honeys In Hell” is the crossover of LGBTQ+ celebration and Dante’s Inferno that we have all been waiting for. With a multitude of synth apparatus’ and a driving bass line, Joey Nebulous turns internal damnation into a party. “My skin might boil and rot / and I know infernos really hot / but I got the gays on every block.” Being told that hell awaits you and that we are all in for a lot of damnation, Farago would rather be in hell where Madonna plays in every bar. 

Lets not forget about the unapologetic and radiant love songs seeping from the speakers when listening to Joey Spumoni Creamy Dreamy Party All The Time. “You’re Straight” is admittedly accepting that Farago’s crush is straight, but still feeling admiration. “I’ll be happy if you fall in love / But I’m going to be honest / If you were gay I’d be more excited / You’re my straight friend” Farago sings. The album turns reflective on “Talking To Boys Online,” about the available schemey online dating apps. Admitting to getting his hopes up often, Farago rejoices in being a hopeless romantic. Inwardly, Farago sings “I don’t want our band to change” on the track “Joey’s Band.” The gratitude is there and waltzes about with the extended piano outro. “Pancake,” one of the last singles released, is a cute and sentimental song of Farago and Novak’s friendship and the time they lived together. Pancakes, being a regular meal in the apartment, makes the breakfast meal hold a place of buttery warmth and sticky nostalgia in the band. 

With a lot of songs leaning into random examples of pop culture, Farago and company acknowledge the simple things that can bring comfort to us. More importantly, it embraces the passions that queer people are often slandered for enjoying. Expressing the joy of mainstream cooking shows, “Paul Hollywood,” named after the celebrity chef from The Great British Bake Off, is about a secret crush who likes to bake. “He’s making desert and it’s my favorite kind,” Farago sings above minimalist instrumentation. “Hot Priest” is about the hot priest from the hit show Fleabag, a character that grabbed many of our sinning hearts. “Zachary Daiquiri” is a patient pop song that meanders through the story of the alter-ego of a sagittarius crime-fighting party seeker who “makes the crimes go away.”

Joey Spumoni Creamy Dreamy Party All The Time is less about the uneasiness in the modern social climate, but one band’s ability to reframe how we look at it. They build a world around the celebration of extended love, queer proclamation, a world where crushes could be counted on to bring more than just fantasies and one where pop culture is nothing but a personal and unabashed connection to our favorite things. The rhythms are tight, the harmonies are adorable, the synths are bouncy, and the vocals are offbeat and exciting. As Farago sings “it’s the smallest little things I’m dreaming of / Pancake is the way to my heart,” it makes all the sense in the world.