Through moves from Reno to New York to Los Angeles and places in between in the mid- to late 2010s, Nick Rattigan continued to write and record music for his murky, post-punk-informed solo project,
Current Joys, as well as sustaining his garage-pop duo,
Surf Curse. Circa 2018, after settling in Los Angeles, he saw an uptick in interest in
Current Joys as reflected in social media activity, mushrooming catalog streams, and sold-out shows in Europe and venues like the El Rey Theatre in L.A. The interest prompted Rattigan to let in collaborators for the first time for his seventh album, which was also his first to be recorded in a professional studio. While it maintains
Current Joys' distinctly intimate, brooding character, the resulting
Voyager is an ambitious, nearly hour-long set exhibiting a notable upgrade in production quality. Speaking of character, it's an aurally and thematically cinematic work that was highly inspired by Rattigan's love of film, specifically the stylized storytelling of directors such as
Alfred Hitchcock and
Lars von Trier. (Song titles like "Rebecca," "Dancer in the Dark," and "Breaking the Waves" are no coincidence.) A song inspired by the soundtrack to the 2009 film
Adventureland, which includes an appearance by the titular band, the yearning "Big Star" is among a handful of acoustic-minded tunes that also include brittle guitar ballad "The Spirit or the Curse." Most of the album, however, relies instead on lush, strings-embellished indie rock arrangements featuring deep-toned guitars in line with Rattigan's voice. Meanwhile, longing, vulnerable lyrics sometimes take dark turns into self-harm and romantic despair, even on a track like the musically upbeat duet "Something Real." Other slight diversions among
Voyager's generous 16 tracks are "Money Making Machine," a song that evokes the rock & roll of, say, Eddie & the Cruisers, and "Shivers," a cover of
Boys Next Door, a short-lived group that included major Rattigan influence
Nick Cave.
Current Joys' debut for the Secretly Canadian label,
Voyager serves as a logical entry point for the uninitiated with its refreshed sound, and, although some longtime fans may miss the raw, immediate quality of his homemade releases, the arrangements here only intensify Rattigan's emotive writing and performances. ~ Marcy Donelson