Cold Beaches: Ambient Joy
(Stay Hungry Records)
Parisian indie-jazz outfit Cold Beaches, the creative vehicle of DC-born Sophia Nadia, returns with their dreamy new album Ambient Joy, an 11-track journey that melds psychedelic rock, jazz, funk and rock influences into lush, immersive soundscapes with both emotional and musical depth.
Recorded at Forward Studios in Rome with producer Lucas Christoff and audio engineer Francesco Putorti, Ambient Joy features a carefully selected ensemble: Paolo Garoute on drums, Simon Xie on bass, Tristan David on guitar, and Nadia herself on synths, piano, guitars, and vocals. Written over several years, the album confronts themes of grief, depression, anxiety, heartbreak, and the illusions of love, cloaked by dreamy soundscapes, feel good, colourful melodies and rich arrangements.
Opening with the rolling hi-hats, tasteful bass runs, percussive bongos and swelling modulation-soaked guitar and keys of Bound To You, the album quickly sets a spacey, groove-driven feel that brings both psychedelic and funk influences into its sonic approach. It’s as comparable to the likes of Tame Impala and Parcels as it is to Men I Trust.
It Hurts Every Time takes a more conventional dream-pop-indie approach with buoyant beach indie vibes and a bright, sparkling soundpallet. While I Started contrasts this approach, with a melancholic, chilled feel which jumps to an up tempo, danceable chorus whilst keeping the fluid modulation-soaked tones which are central to Cold Beaches’ sonic aesthetic.
One of the album’s stand outs, Leave It Alone, leans deeper into the band’s dream-pop sensibilities, layering a beautifully arranged jazz-infused soundscape over warm synth lines and crisp guitar work. The track feels nuanced, shaped by subtle shifts in the drumbeat’s groove and tempo, while Sophia Nadia’s vocals float effortlessly above the mix. Midway through, the song blooms into the first of two vibrant instrumental breaks, where the fluid keyboard runs highlight its jazzy undercurrents, before the guitar break defines the track’s vibrant musicality. The overall result is a track that recalls the refined elegance of Men I Trust, very much in the best way possible.
Elsewhere across the album, I Think I’ve Done It Again offers quirky musical ideas, long instrumental breaks, understated yet surprisingly catchy vocal melodies, and a soaring half-time guitar solo. Brick And Concrete breaks up the album with a more grunge-facing feel as gritty guitar tones collide with the still soft and angelic vocals, while the album’s lead single, Up And Down, offers a buoyant, bright soundscape under the lyricism which discusses the struggles of living between the US and France, creating music that is at once intimate and expansive.
Talking about the album, Nadia explains: “Ambient Joy is about finding joy in the things that may not seem as exciting. As mundane as life can be, you learn to be grateful for the monotony as opposed to life-altering events or trauma. It’s about trying to find your way, alone or accompanied by those you love, in a world that seems full of endless possibilities, all tragic and beautiful and silly and kind. It’s in the acceptance of that grey area that one may find ambient joy.”
Throughout Ambient Joy, Cold Beaches embrace contradiction: joy and despair, love and loss, fantasy and reality. Juxtaposing lush and bright dream-pop, indie and jazz soundscapes with weighty lyrical content, highlighting the dualities of life in a way that feels both intimate, melancholic, yet vibrant and uplifting.
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All words by Simon Lucas-Hughes. More writing by Simon Lucas-Hughes can be found at his author’s archive.
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