The Joykiller
“Ready Sexed Go”
(Epitaph)
Why couldn’t Jack Grisham, lead singer of The Joykiller and T.S.O.L., have a side-project? It seems like every other punk rock star has at least one act on the back burner, but when T.S.O.L. decided to get back together a few years ago, Jack and The Joykillers decided to call it quits, leaving a brief but interesting library of music behind.
Epitaph have rounded up twenty-four of The Joykiller’s pop-punk (before the term was a bad thing) gems and then thrown in eight unreleased tracks for good measure. My biggest complaint with “Ready Sexed Go” is that the first eight tracks are from an early EP and never really capture the melodic and varied sound the band became known for later on.
After those first few tunes, however, the album really picks up with such favorites as the ’80s sounding “She’s so Static”, “What a Girl”, and the brilliant “What It’s Worth”, with all of its Billy Idol/Robert Smith poppiness and keyboards. The unreleased material shows The Joykiller was nowhere near the end of their creative rope when they decided to pack it in, as “La La La” and “Emily” show the band at their stripped-down best, full of energy and action.
