Twee Pop - The Art of Taking Difficult Decisions
With its near minute long arpeggio-laden overture, Killjoy is a jangle-pop classic. But what makes it stand out for me is the way that it’s another example of the way in which supposedly drippy Twee Pop could so brilliantly and honestly reflect the most painful moments of romantic relationships with a force and directness that other more muscular styles of music weren’t able to match. Oh sure, there were louder scenes with singers who could do heartbroken and wracked, but their pain and emotional upset never sounded as comparable to mine or yours as it did when vocalised by people like Keris Howard of Brighter.
Furthermore, as with Look For the Holes by Po!, the track brings the audience in just at the point where decisive action is being taken and it’s that tension between the steely sentiments and the gentle, almost timid delivery that I find so interesting. These bands dealt in a romantic landscape where hearts were broken and relationships ended with regret, but also with a clear sense that this had to be done for everyone’s sake because to go on would only bring greater pain and eventually outright hatred on both sides. At their core, these bands and that scene recognised that love and relationships were hard work and that more often than not, especially in the late teens/early 20s phase of life, unpleasant conversations would need to be had and unpopular decisions made. Short-term heartbreak and contempt for long-term peace of mind and serenity of spirit.
Killjoy seems to be taking place during the calmer phase of a breakup discussion. It’s open to a couple of different interpretations and I lean towards one side coming out towards the other about their true sexual/romantic orientation: I can’t bear to deceive you any longer/Cos this is me/You always were my friend/So how come you pretend? It certainly gives the feelings around the breakup greater potency than they míght have had if it was just a case of Howard meeting someone else.
Although one other spin is that Killjoy represents the feelings of someone breaking someone else’s heart for the first time, bringing together the blend of guilt and self-justification that such an unpleasant duty often engenders, especially if you’re not natural heartbreaker material. I wish I’d been aware of it during my own brief stint as one during spring/summer 1994. Either way, it’s a little gem of a song, beautifully written and performed.
Alas, it also signalled a break-up within Brighter themselves, with the Disney EP serving as their swansong release. Their page on the carefully curated Sarah Records webpage is a nice guide to the journey they went on.
Video courtesy of hernaniexchange
Lyrics copyright of their authors.
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