REVIEW: Joshua Zero – ‘Carnage’

There is a point during Joshua Zero’s ‘Carnage’ where the entire EP feels like it might collapse in on itself. Guitars screech against blown-out electronics, vocals distort into the red, rhythms lurch unpredictably between precision and total meltdown, and yet somehow, amid all the wreckage, the songs remain painfully intact. And that tension is exactly what makes this release so compelling.

Written in the aftermath of a devastating touring accident in 2023, ‘Carnage’ does not romanticise recovery or wrap suffering in cinematic triumph. Here, Joshua Zero documents the psychological static that follows trauma: the boredom, confusion, frustration and surreal absurdity of suddenly having to rebuild yourself from the ground up. The result is an EP that feels emotionally exposed without ever becoming self-pitying.

The project exists in a fascinating no-man’s-land between emo, hyperpop, post-hardcore and noise-driven alternative rock. There are flashes of Deftones in the crushing guitar weight, while the hyper-digital vocal manipulations and fractured production choices occasionally veer toward the chaotic emotional overload of 100 gecs. But Joshua Zero never sounds derivative, and the record feels too unstable and personal for that.

Lead single ‘they coo so perfectly’ is where the EP’s identity crystallises most clearly. The drums hit with brutal force while layers of guitar grind against shimmering electronic textures, creating a strange tension between vulnerability and aggression. Joshua’s vocal delivery is particularly effective because it never feels polished beyond recognition. Even beneath the autotune and distortion, there is exhaustion in every line, as though the songs are being physically dragged into existence.

But what separates ‘Carnage’ from countless other genre-fusing alternative releases is the sense that every decision carries emotional consequence. The instability of the production mirrors the instability of the period it documents. Songs twitch and fracture unexpectedly, tempos feel restless, melodies appear briefly before disintegrating into noise. And nothing remains comfortable for long.

Tracks like ‘ak47 death fanfiction // rebirth’ lean fully into that chaos, transforming emotional disorientation into something almost cinematic in scope. Elsewhere, ‘the inevitable end of everything’ strips things back into instrumental unease, allowing atmosphere to carry the emotional weight without needing words. Even in its quieter moments, the EP feels tense, as though something is always moments away from breaking apart.

There is also something deeply inspiring about the context surrounding these songs. Knowing Joshua returned to performing while still physically recovering adds another dimension to the material. You can hear that determination throughout the EP, as the performances sound more like emotional exorcisms than anything else.

What ‘Carnage’ ultimately captures is the strange intimacy that exists within underground music scenes: the shared understanding between performer and audience when emotion becomes too large or complicated for ordinary conversation. Joshua Zero channels that feeling brilliantly here. This is messy, volatile and occasionally overwhelming music, but it is alive in a way many polished alternative records are not.

With this new collection, Joshua Zero transforms physical pain and emotional instability into something strangely communal. It finds meaning inside the noise itself, and that honesty gives the EP enormous weight.