Burnside Album Details

Taking their name from a song by the legendary British new wave group the Teardrop Explodes, Pure Joy were among a handful of '80s Seattle bands that drew more inspiration from English neo-psychedelic rock than punk or heavy metal. Like Weather Theatre, Room Nine, and the First Thought, Pure Joy (originally called the Dwindles) sounded more like a group from the U.K. than the Pacific Northwest. Featuring Rusty Willoughby (vocals, guitar), Lisa King (bass), and Jim Hunnicutt (drums, vocals), Pure Joy recorded their first LP, "Unsung", in 1987. The new wave-ish feel of Pure Joy's songs was antithetical to the raw din of the group's Seattle peers; although the band didn't become as well-known as the city's grunge icons, they helped broaden the range of Seattle's music scene. In 1989, the group released its second album, "Carnivore", on PopLlama Records, and then broke up - only to reform once again to offer up "Gelatin and Bright".