Oregon-formed indie-pop trio Joseph are set to play at The Grand Social this October, 31st. Natalie Closner and her sisters, twins Meegan Closner and Allison Closner, curate a certain emotional alchemy with their music, channelling their deepest tensions into songs that inspire a cathartic shift in perspective.

In their third studio album, The Sun, they focus their deeply reflective songwriting on the underlying damaging forces, such as gaslighting, cultural conditioning, and unconscious yet painfully limiting self-beliefs, that prevent us from living fully in our own truth and acceptance.

Their newly emboldened sound allows their breathtaking three-part harmonies to shine brighter than ever, resulting in a body of work that radically expands our sense of possibility, ultimately illuminating a path toward greater peace and self-reliance even in the most chaotic of times.

 

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The album is a follow-up to Good Luck, Kid, a 2019 release that reached #4 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart. The Sun takes its predecessor's cinematic pop and uses it to infuse a thrilling new energy into each elegantly sculpted track.

Joseph worked with acclaimed producers like Tucker Martine, Christian “Leggy” Langdon, Jessica Dobson, and Joey Burns to help breathe life into the new album. The also collaborated with songwriters Tayla Parx and Wynne Bennett.

The Sun's irresistibly vibrant sound encompasses everything from moody grandeur with the album-opening “Waves Crash” to pure anthemic glory with tracks like “Kicking Up The Light.” With the band taking a decidedly more hands-on role in the production process, The Sun continually achieves the exquisite feat of spinning incredibly complex concepts into sing-along-ready pop songs, providing a captivating backdrop for Joseph’s fearlessly personal storytelling.

One of the first songs recorded for The Sun, the album’s glimmering title track served as something of a sonic breakthrough for Joseph. “We’d already played that song live so many times and sung it in a particular way that was more dramatic and had a kind of gravitas to it, but Leggy took it in a more buoyant and summery direction,” Natalie explained.

The song takes inspiration from Meegan's experience working through the lessons of a past relationship, centering in on a lush arrangement of galvanising rhythms, radiant piano tones, and gorgeously euphoric harmonies. The lyrics, “I thought I was the light switch you turned on, but I was the Sun,” lend themselves to the profoundly triumphant spirit of the song’s statement of self-celebration.

Good Luck, Kid marked a bold departure from the dreamlike folk of their first full-length. With The Sun however, Joseph felt drawn to an even more audacious flight from their original sound. Pushing their musical boundaries saw the band assuming a new level of courage in the creative process.

Over the course of The Sun’s 10 soul-stirring tracks, each member of Joseph adds new texture and detail to the album’s emotional arc by sharing her own distinct viewpoint on the journey toward self-realisation. The band hope that, with the release of The Sun, listeners might experience a similar evolution in their sense of strength and self-assurance.

“I want people to feel empowered,” said Meegan. ”I want them to recognise the power with themselves, and to know that they’re good—that they’re more than they think they are.”

Tickets for Joseph's performance at The Grand Social on October 31st, 2023 are available here.