The Punchbunch as the liner notes calls them are very definitely influenced by the late and great Jimi Hendrix and are at their best when they follow that style. Their slower songs, though lyrically touching, don't bring the best out of vocalist. Truly enjoyable on the other hand are blues rock styles of "Desert Valley" and "Give Love" which admonishes us to love one another rightly.

They even include a song about a Foxy Lady called, "My Sister."

     She looks like any of us, but something shines through
     It comes from her heart, her beauty inside
     And when you ask her, why she's so happy
     She simply answers, I've been saved by Christ

With a unique sound in Christian music, Punches of Joy has the potential to bring smiles to listeners for a long time.

By Sam Hagedorn 11/25/99

As indicated by the title, this album is a suitable introduction to the power trio Punches of Joy, hailing from Sweden.  Introduction is an album of no-holds-barred, groove-heavy, bluesy rock music, reminiscent of the Black Crowes and the 77s.  Lead singer Niclas Lofgren has a voice which at times recalls Bob Dylan, but mostly is uniquely and distinctly his own.  It is not a  pretty voice, but it perfectly suits the music.  Lyrically, the album is pretty straightforward, without much imagery. On the whole the lyrics seem to be a conversation between the band and God anyway, so the lack of symbolism is not disappointing.

There are a couple minor annoyances; the track list on the back cover of the CD case has several of the tracks in the wrong spots.  Fortunately it is fairly easy to figure out which song is which, so after a couple listens that becomes a non-issue.  The other annoyance is the way the final track, "Weakness," stops cold as if there had been another verse that was suddenly cut from the song.  While appropriate for a song called "Weakness," the abrupt end does not sit right.  Stronger tracks include "The Giant," "Come Back," and "Sail, Don't Drift," all of which are catchy and suitably noisy. Overall, the album's kind of punchy, but joyful.

Alex Klages 12/11/99