The Story Of Shy Shy Shy’s “Joyride”

In their latest track “Joyride”, Denmark based band Shy Shy Shy tackles long nights of cruising away from misery. Starting off with a guitar and some simple bass notes, they sing:

You can take the wheel I feel like I lost my direction
When I look in the rear-view mirror, there is no reflection
We’re driving through the blue-dark chasing headlights
Staring at the dotted line breeze behind my eyes

Only looking forward, these lines represent times when you’re trying to run away from something in the past in any way possible, such as a late-night drive. They go on to further emphasise this, starting the refrain:

All I do is joyride
I’m not stopping at the red lights
All I do is joyride
I got nowhere to go tonight
No hands on the steering wheel
The wind in my face, that’s all I feel
All I do is joyride
Joyride
Joyride

Joyriding is the only way to keep the thoughts at bay. Nothing can stop you tonight, not even the red lights. If all you can feel is the wind in your face, things will be alright, even if just for tonight. You feel dazed and disoriented as the band goes on:

I had a map, I had a plan
A sense of direction
You tore it up and laughed at me
And my expectations
Cold air filling my lungs I’m assuaging my goodbyes
To dreams and sweet illusions
I leave myself behind

At this point distant synth sounds come in, further emphasizing the feeling of loss and confusion at revelations. Maybe you learned the world is mean and unforgiving or that people aren’t as trustworthy as you thought they were. Maybe a dream you’ve had since a child has been crushed by the harsh truths of reality. Whatever it is, it’s hard and stifling, but you know you must accept it and learn to live with this new realization.

They repeat the refrain twice before drifting off completely into their synth soundwaves. This could be interpreted as a success; for tonight you’ve kept the memories that haunt you at bay, or even learned something from them. Or, if you’re more pessimistic, it could be defeat; you’re overcome by the memories and they’ve left you sobbing in a ditch. Either way, “Joyride” tugs at our occasional urge to just run away from it all.

With a mostly minimalistic soundscape save for the end, Shy Shy Shy paints a picture of a night filled with internal battles that most if not all of us have had at least once in our lives.

How did you meet and form a band?

We met at a music school in a small town called Skive many years ago, but it wasn’t until 2014 that we decided to make a band. Simon had problems finishing a song he called “Don’t Ask Me to Dance”. It had a really cool whistle hook and some lines for the chorus and I helped him write the rest of it. When we were done we loved it so much that we knew we had to form a band. The song became our first single, “Do Not Ask”.

How did the rest of the live band come together from there?

The guys we have with us on stage are some of our good friends. It’s very important to us to have fun when we’re on the road, and these guys are the best. Fortunately, they are also really good musicians.

What inspired you to make the track “Joyride”?

It was written for the final scene in episode four of the new Danish television show “Doggystyle” where the main character hits rock bottom. We wanted to make it sound lonely and illustrate the chaos that goes on inside your head in situations like that.

For “Joyride” which came first, the lyrics or the music?

They came more or less simultaneously.

Is that pattern in “Joyride” the usual for your songwriting process?

It differs from song to song. Sometimes the initial idea is a little melody. Sometimes it’s a chord progression. And sometimes it’s just a lot of words. Either way, we always present our ideas to each other and finish them together.

What do you think is more important; the lyrics, the music, or neither?

Neither. Both are equally important and give new meaning and life to the other. Lyrics can change their meaning depending on what music you put with it. One of the happiest songs written is also called “Joyride”. It’s written by Roxette and is about something completely different.

What’s your favorite part of writing a song?

We love writing songs, but the part we love the most is when our ideas start taking shape and we get a clear picture of what the song is supposed to be.

Do you have a favorite topic or theme to write about?

We often find ourselves writing about feeling stupid or awkward.

I noticed for this track and a few others such as “Sober” that the cover art uses what looks like light trails to spell out the name of the track. What was the inspiration for this aesthetic?

The neon signs are a continuous element in the artwork for all the songs we have released this fall. This March they are going to be part of our next EP. We liked the thought of a song title being like a sign and that was how we came up with it. This time around we decided to do our own artwork.

Do you have any hobbies outside of music that influence your sound and lyrics?

All our lyrics find inspiration in our own lives, so whenever we see or experience something interesting we put it into a song.

Lastly, what are you looking forward to most in the new year as a band?

We have a tour to promote our next EP in March and April. We can’t wait to play all of our new songs in front of an audience.