Memphis alt-rockers Joybomb return today on their second outing of 2025 with “Stigmata Palms.” Instantly showcasing the band’s punk influences, the track arrives as a lightning bolt of Warped Tour energy and hook-forward guitar chops. Romantic co-dependence and self-sacrifice take center stage on lyrics that ooze with angst as they ride a high velocity emotive rollercoaster. Feeling so torn up may rarely have felt quite so fun.
This candid take on interpersonal relationships follows the June release of “I, Paparazzi” which found Joybomb frontman Grant Beatty reflecting on a different type of relationship; that time an honest acknowledgement of brain rot and the drug-like intoxication of social media.
Both “Stigmata Palms” and “I, Paparazzi” are accompanied by animated visuals from videographer Quinton Hickman.
For those who encountered Joybomb’s 2024 Modern Scripture EP, these themes of tragic romance and charged social commentary will come as little surprise. Bottomless consumer culture, chemical escapism, absurd political theatre, and complex relationships were all variously skewered at points across the six tracks on Modern Scripture. As the band enters new territory on these recent singles they continue to demonstrate their ongoing commitment to belting out glaring futilities and inconvenient hang-ups while dancing together into oblivion despite them.
“Stigmata Palms” features the new marginally re-tooled 2025 incarnation of Joybomb, with Luki Luvsik (guitar) now joining Beatty (vocals/guitar), Conner Booth (vocals, bass), and Xander Sinclair (drums). Engineer Matt Qualls is reenlisted from the Modern Scripture sessions, providing a trusted hand at engineering, mixing, and mastering this new single.
