JOHNNIE CARWASH

“We wrote the last track on the album, WALIAG, while on tour at 4am after a festive evening with Belgian trio Annabel Lee. It’s a way of paying tribute to these people we meet on the road and sometimes feel we’ve known for years.” Johnnie Carwash sums up the essence of the project: fun and friendship! Because your favorite cool kids are back with a second album, No Friends No Pain, to be released next March by Howlin Banana. It was recorded in April 2023 at Vega Studio (Carpentras) by Romain Da Silva and mixed at Mistral Palace (Valence).

Ten tracks perfect for countering the ambient gloom: heady refrains, no-holds-barred anthems and blistering power! Somewhere between Fidlar and Frankie Cosmos, and influenced as much by Bad Nerves as Broncho, this power rock trio, driven by female vocals and touching sincerity, love a sound that lives and travels. Guitar, drums and bass: these are the ingredients needed to produce a dense, smiling music with the allure of a funfair in the South of France. In three words: thrills, emotions and happiness. But what would joy be without friendship?

The one that has united their lives and their music for several years now. No Friends No Pain sets the tone: a dedication to their girlfriends, a declaration of love to the bands they adore (I Wanna Be In Your Band) or a friendly break-up (Waste My Time). And if some tracks tackle difficult subjects such as mental health head-on (Aha, Anxiety, Hate Myself), it’s always with the help of elevated tempos and powerful melodies. Their music is at times melancholy, but above all cathartic. The trio is driven by a raw, sensitive honesty.

There’s a certain wonderment in Johnnie Carwash’s accomplishment of their projects, a concealed modesty in the joy of playing and a simplicity in doing things. Once again, they are surrounded by their pals on this album, entrusting the artwork to musician and visual artist Margaux Jaudinaud (Vera Daisies, Ottis Cœur).

Selling illegal alcohol to finance the recording of their first album: check. Rehearsing in a garage behind a car wash: check again. The trio self-produced their two albums, taking the time to shape their songs and their message. No Friends No Pain appears to be the necessary follow-up to Teenage Ends, so as not to close the door on adolescence, but to remain big kids. An opus that will undoubtedly appeal to fans of punchy rock and festive garage. Spoiler alert: it’s regressive and good for you.