In 2023, I reviewed Moving Forward, the debut album from Coventry-based act, Vamoosery. You can revisit that class album by clicking on the button below

Come April 2025, we have (Dis)Comfort described as a “lo-fi folk peregrination from Joel Julian of Vamoosery prog shenanigans”.

A single track, Comfort, was released in March, and we now have an EP of three pieces which expands that. You can find out more by going along to https://joeljulian.bandcamp.com/album/dis-comfort I did, incidentally, play Comfort on my radio show of 3rd May.

Largely instrumental, the EP sonically emphasises themes explored lyrically in Comfort: habitual struggles, circular thinking, the paradox of finding comfort in that which is ultimately self-destructive, and the faint hope of light just above the surface.

So, three pieces of music from a very talented young artist. Let’s discuss and play a bit.

Comfort itself starts us off. It is embedded below for you, and you are immediately greeted by a varied set of sounds, fascinating in their texture. Tonally and vocally, this reminds me so much of the classic Blondie hit, Call Me, and that is no bad thing in this reviewer’s book. It is stripped back but carries with it an interesting paradox of classic new wave alongside electronica and English folk (there are some Tull undertones here), so a heady mix. I love the whistles and the acoustic mix, the noise elements increasing as we enter the last minute, the words of comfort, frankly, anything but.

It segues into Circle. The mood immediately changes. This is the type of song a Floyd could easily have recorded had their psychedelic self been around in 2025, the dissonance of the noises at times deeply disturbing amongst a smorgasbord of notes and effects, deep bass rumbling from the pits of the self, before a close which settles down into a slumber.

Discomfort closes the EP. The guitar work to open is a joy, a positive Americana vibe before a starkly more modern set of electronic percussion and synths invade the mind, a contrast to the opening notes, dystopian to their core. The guitar riffs are from your darkest nightmares, and as a contrast to the sense and feel of Comfort, it couldn’t be more successful. The encroaching noise as it enters its final minute is executed so well. Not a song to play as a lullaby to your little one at night, it is a fascinating piece which gives up more each time you listen.

For £2.50, the digital copy of this is an absolute steal, and Julian is a young artist who I think will grow so much in importance as we move forward. Top stuff, imaginative, and well performed.