band

If The Doors got locked in a garage with Fontaines D.C., the Flaming Lips and IDLES, and Syd Barrett stood outside screaming his last scream through the keyhole, you’d start to capture the sound of Machineries of Joy.

Formed in Exeter on 27th October 2018, this alt-rock/indie/psych four-piece blends spiky guitars, driving rhythms and snarling poetry into something raw, wired and impossible to ignore. “Kicks serious ass!” says Rock Radio UK, while PhonicFM’s Jason Maddocks called their first EP ‘SIZES’, “A cracking EP. Just brilliant!”

Machineries of Joy started by accident. In 2018, a surprise birthday jam session put together for singer/songwriter & frontman Darren Howard to play his songs turned into something undeniable. What was meant to be a one-off moment became a band with a ferocious live energy, a sound built to shake you up and melodies that leave a mark.

Their name, borrowed from Ray Bradbury, hints at their obsession with the fragile and the furious—the small mechanisms that keep people moving, even in a chaotic world. Their music sits somewhere between post-punk urgency and psychedelic sprawl, with Involving Music describing them as “irregular indie punk joy”.

Live, they pull people in and don’t let go. Whether it’s a packed venue, an open-air festival or a room of strangers waiting to be converted, they bring an energy that demands attention. Clash Magazine’s Lewis Lister put it best: “MOJ frontman Darren Howard is a captivating mix of The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne & IDLES’ Joe Talbot, but with a laconic swagger all of his own.”

They’ve hit stages across the South West, including Exeter Phoenix, Exeter Cavern, the legendary Golden Lion (Bristol), Move, HMV Exeter, Bradninch Rocks Festival, and Dark River Music Festival. With momentum building and their latest release making waves, Machineries of Joy are proving they’re not just another band—they’re a force to be reckoned with.