Featuring vibrant guitar sounds and mesmerizing vocals, Manchester’s alternative pop outfit Better Joy is on the brink of a major industry breakthrough. Founded and fronted by Bria Keely, the band draws inspiration from a diverse group of musicians, ranging from The Jesus & Mary Chain and Phoebe Bridgers to The Cure and Fazerdaze. With their latest release, the beautiful ‘Dead Plants’, Better Joy masterfully blends traditional and modern alt vibes into an invigorating mix that champions unconditional love and the ups and downs of relationships of all kinds. We sat down with Keely to chat about their new single, how they got to where they are now, exciting plans for the future, and much more.
Let’s start right at the beginning? How did you first get into music?
I’ve always been into music, played piano and sung as a kid and listened to the classics, but it wasn’t until after uni that I got into songwriting and guitar music.
Did you think you’d end up where you are now when you first started?
Absolutely not!! It still feels mad to be honest. I know I’m still very much at the beginning of it all too, but I’m excited to be gigging and writing and getting music out to the world. I hope that feeling never fades.
What’s the story behind the band’s name?
I’d love to say there was some deep meaningful story behind the name, but in all honesty, it was the result of a brainstorming session and my producer at the time threw it out there and it happened to be the only one I didn’t hate!
If you had to describe your music to someone who doesn’t know you, what would you say?
I would say it plays on contrasts; bright but also dark, fun but also moody, energetic, jangly guitars but lazy vocals. I’d say the sound is influenced by 80s guitar music, but lyrically it feels pretty relevant to today. I’m excited to keep playing with these contrasts the more I write.
Looking back at your career so far, what is your favourite memory?
I mean it’s been a relatively short career so far, but I would say supporting Andrew Cushion at Scala in October has got to be up there!! Biggest crowd we’ve had the pleasure of performing to so far and it was just so much fun!!! We did a mini tour last week and that was so fun, exciting to play music to people outside our friends and family. Another favourite memory is getting our first single played on BBC Radio 6 with Chris Hawkins, that was a massive moment and one I won’t ever forget.
This has been an exciting time for you as you’ve gained more recognition, is there a main lesson you’ve taken away from this transition?
That it’s so important to be myself! I’m not perfect, I don’t know everything about music or the industry and I’m not always gonna get things right first time – but that’s ok. I think there’s so much pressure to be something you’re not, to make a good impression and impress people, to get it right first time, and actually, that’s not true.
What was it like to release your first single?
It felt so so good!! After always finding the idea of releasing music quite daunting, by the time the release came around we’d been sitting on this song for a little while and I just felt so ready for it to be out in the world and crack on with the rest of it!
What would you say was your biggest inspiration for ‘Dead Plants’, whether that is books/movies/other songs?
So, my friend was telling me a story about someone in her family, about how they loved this person but that they made is so hard to like them. I loved that line — it’s so relatable, like loving someone but not necessarily liking them, it’s unconditional but also really annoying at times. So, I built it from there, took inspiration of the plant metaphor from a book I read (can’t remember the name but it was a good book and this imagery stuck with me clearly!!) and had a couple of Harry Potter influences thrown in there too.
What are some of the most prevalent themes you write about?
I write a lot about relationships, but not always the obvious ones like romantic relationships — I love to write about friendships, family relationships and the relationship with myself. I sometimes quite like sitting in uncomfortable feelings, thinking about times I’ve made mistakes and owning them through writing about it, I think it’s quite empowering to admit you don’t get things right but with that, comes growth.
‘Hard to Love’ was a song about self-realisation and acceptance, is it ever hard for you to write about personal things, thinking that you’ll release the song later?
I think it’s natural to be aware of how much of yourself you want to expose but I’ve learnt that being vulnerable through my writing isn’t a bad thing. The more I write, the more open I am to delving deep into my flaws, write what feels right and try not to think too much about it in a way.
What’s your songwriting process like and does it vary from track to track?
Varies! I like to get the melody then work on lyrics from there, but sometimes I have lyrics in my head, and I have to find a melody that works for them. That’s what happened with Dead Plants — I had my lyric, I just had to find the melody.
Where do you feel more comfortable? Studio or stage?
Writing and studio time is where I feel most creative and free, I guess, but there’s nothing quite like the feeling of being on stage.
What would you say is your approach to social media?
I’m not natural at social media…so really, the fact I even have a TikTok page is a win. But I’m getting used to it and getting more comfortable…so there may be a content creator in me yet!!
Is there anything about the industry you would change if you could ?
I’ve not been in the industry long enough to know yet!! Ask me again in a year!
What are your plans for the future?
So many plans hopefully!!! More songs, gigs and a whole lot of writing! Next big thing is getting ‘Dead Plants’ out into the world – I can’t wait to see it on Spotify and hear it on the radio. Still feels pretty surreal I get to say that!
Do you try to stand out from the crowd and if yes, how?
That’s a weird question! If I say no then I’m not doing anything original, but if I say yes, I sound like an idiot. But no, I don’t think I try to stand out — like I said before, the biggest lesson I’ve learnt is that it’s ok to be myself so that’s all I’m doing. If I stand out, great, if I don’t, not much I can do about that!
What does music mean to you?
I love how you can play a song and connect with people through music, that’s all I want to do – write and connect. If I can spend my life making and writing music that speaks to me personally and means something to other people too, then I’m winning.
Written by Laura Weingrill
GEM Magazine 