Alan Thomas and Steven Rutherford of Joan. I Courtesy of BMF Media
“Mom jeans and electric pianos” is not only their bio on SoundCloud but also a depiction of the band itself.
Joan, a duo from Little Rock, Arkansas, has been rapidly immersing themselves in the alt-pop scene. Related to artists such as COIN, HUNNY, The Japanese House and Vinyl Theatre, the boys have taken an influential stance when it comes to pop and alternative junkies.
The group has been around for fewer than 18 months but has already gained recognition from the industry through Noisey, Clash, NME and The Line of Best Fit. They were even named one of the standout acts by The Telegraph and The Independent, said the band’s publicist Jess Valiente.
With more than 206,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, 2,000 followers on Twitter and 7,000 followers on Instagram, the band has blossomed across various outlets.
If you haven’t heard them yet, don’t fret. Their songs can be accessed on many platforms, including SoundCloud, Spotify and Apple Music.
Outside of music, fashion plays a huge role through their personal image.
With their Tumblr, soft-grunge aesthetic, the ’90s is an evident influence on their branding. Their songs have the dreamy punch of young romance. The soft, poppy melodies merged with the lyrics of love, contemplation and adolescence makes Joan an easy listen.
“We played in two separate bands for a while, and since there aren’t many bands in Little Rock, we ended up playing shows together a lot,” the band said. “We became fast friends and wanted to try writing together. The first day we wrote ‘take me on’ and were like ‘woah, this is a band.’ That was in September of 2016, and it’s had 100 percent of our attention since.”
With the help of their management Big Life, they released their first EP “portra” this year, which consists of six original songs. In addition, the band just signed with Universal Music Group for future releases that should be hitting outlets monthly.
Starting this month, the duo is leading a cross-country U.S. tour.
“We both always knew that music was the dream, so I think we both would be doing something in music even if it wasn’t Joan. This project fell into our laps at the right time and place, and it just felt so right to us, we had to chase it,” the band said when asked about how Joan has influenced them.
Houston, we are in luck. Joan will be coming to House of Blues Saturday with indie singer-songwriter Jeremy Zucker at 7:30 p.m.
