Surf Curse’s Nick Rattigan originally intended for his project, TELE/VISIONS, to be a solo project. Since his 2013 debut album, Wild Heart, all the instrumentation throughout the project’s discography had been done by only Rattigan and a drum machine. With the release of the widely popular 2016 single “Kids,” Rattigan changed the project’s name to Current Joys. He continued to be a solo performer until Current Joys’ latest studio album, Voyager, where Current Joys became a four-piece band: Rattigan on the guitar, Jackson Katz on the drums, Aaron Jassenoff on the bass, and Maddy Boyd on the keys. The accompaniment of these three new members helped Voyager become the most polished and refined Current Joys record yet, while keeping Rattigan’s signature emotional lyricism and vocals.

Voyager’s opener, “Dancer in the Dark,” revisits the familiar emotional tone that every Current Joys album presents, but Rattigan’s vocals seem much closer to the listener. This song feels personal to Rattigan, much like every song on the album, but it sets a great precedent for the fresh style of instrumentation this album brings to the Current Joys catalog. The soft electric guitar, simple piano, and outstanding drums all bring this piece to life, and they show a great evolution since 2018’s A Different Age. One of the few singles for Voyager, “American Honey” presents some of Rattigan’s best vocals. The orchestration throughout each instrumental section adds to the emotion. Although Current Joys’ discography is full of songs made for people to relate to, “American Honey” sticks out as a lyrically simple, yet relatable song.

“Naked” is much more quickly-paced than the rest of the album. The instrumentation isn’t as outstanding as other tracks, and it’s fairly repetitive, but Rattigan’s fresh vocal style fills the void, as it progresses into a more emotional, passionate tone. “Altered States” is a calmly paced song about the singer’s mental health. The track features satisfying background vocals from band member, Maddy Boyd, and they harmonize well alongside Rattigan’s lead vocals. The next song, “Breaking the Waves,” is very repetitive with its repeating chorus and no verses. Despite the song’s repetitive nature, Rattigan’s guitar work on this track is some of the best on the whole album and is especially great when followed by lead vocals from both him and Boyd.

“Big Star” is one of the more average-sounding songs on the album, although Rattigan gives a great perspective on the power of music. He tells of the emotions that music can elicit, as well as the way music can project the singer’s emotions in a way just simply speaking cannot. Voyager’s lead single, “Amateur,” is very reminiscent of the style in Rattigan’s earlier works. The song is very repetitive, as it only repeats the same line over and over, but it works very well in this style. The catchiness, instrumentation, and background vocals throughout the whole song make “Amateur” one of the greatest parts on Voyager. “Rebecca” features very simple, yet pleasing lyrics and instrumental sections. Although Rattigan’s vocals seem mostly effortless, they make the track feel full of emotion, and they become more stunning as the song progresses.

1979’s “Shivers” by The Boys Next Door is covered on Voyager. The cover fits in well with the style of the rest of the album, and the lyrics are definitely along the same lines as Rattigan’s emotional writing style. Current Joys’ rendition of “Shivers” also features more amazing vocals from Rattigan. “Something Real” is a straightforward, cliché duet song about two lovers who, although feel frustrated with each other, still manage to love each other. The song is the shortest on the album, but it features exceptional vocals from Boyd that outshine Rattigan’s voice. “Money Making Machine” features a style that is reminiscent of both Current Joys’ Young Love/No One Will Dance/Neon Gold compilation of EP’s and the style exhibited in the earlier track, “Naked.” The track begins with relatively unemotional lyrics, but it quickly spirals into some of the most depressing lyrics on Voyager.

The instrumental track, “Voyager Pt. 1,” gives a nice break from the album, featuring great orchestration and piano. The next track, “Calypso,” is a much more pop-like song. There isn’t much to note about it, apart from the rather average vocals and lyrics from Rattigan. The acoustic “The Spirit or the Curse” feels very personal to Rattigan, much like the album’s opening track. Thematically, the song is very similar to the rest of many of Current Joys’ songs, digging into Rattigan’s brain and heart. The penultimate song, “Vagabond” features more phenomenally satisfying instrumentation from the full band. The uncomplicated lyrics are followed by a notable instrumental, spanning the second half of the song. Voyager’s closer, “Voyager Pt. 2,” is one of the most touching songs on the album, with the singer’s ongoing voyage to find a lover creating a clean conclusion to the album.

While Rattigan’s discography as a solo act is full of relatable and depressing emotions, Current Joys’ Voyager fulfills that tradition with an impressive four-piece band. The influence of the different pieces of the band positively impacted the album as a whole, and it resulted in Current Joys’ cleanest, most refined record yet. This album displays some of Rattigan’s best vocal and guitar performances yet, as well as amazing vocals from Maddy Boyd. While there are mediocre aspects of Voyager, the highest points definitely shine and show the great potential of Current Joys as a band. As someone who has listened to every single Current Joys song, I can safely say that Voyager is my favorite album so far, and I recommend it to anyone who is looking for soft, indie rock music filled with terrific emotion.