JOY (Anonymous) Return With 'Shit You Make Me Feel'

As their Hackney Church residency swells to three sold-out nights, the anonymous duo prove their pull goes well beyond the mystery

There's a particular kind of song that doesn't try to explain a feeling so much as just hand it to you, and 'JOY (Shit You Make Me Feel)' is exactly that. The latest single from JOY (Anonymous) strips things right back - soft, unhurried vocals over melodies that barely raise their voice - leaving the words to carry all the weight themselves.

It's a continuation of the ground the duo staked out on 'JOY (Light In The Dark)': connection, emotion, the people who make life feel legible. Here, that idea crystallises around Margaret, who appears in the track's visualiser. "For Margaret, it's about finding freedom in her partner later in life," the duo explain, "that moment of being able to say, 'I've found someone who makes me feel everything I've felt in life, and makes me feel witnessed.'" Whether it's a lover, a friend, or whoever you've let close enough to hold you accountable, the song insists, everyone has someone who does this to them.

Alongside the single, JOY (Anonymous) have released a source version - a quieter, unvarnished look at how these songs actually come together, and a reminder that for a duo built on anonymity, the music itself is doing most of the talking.

That approach is clearly resonating. Two Hackney Church shows, on 24th and 30th October, sold out within hours; a third night has now been added on the 31st to meet demand, following a sold-out run at The Jazz Cafe earlier this year. Live, JOY (Anonymous) trade on the same instincts that define their records - spontaneous, communal, unafraid to blur the line between who's performing and who's watching.

'JOY (Shit You Make Me Feel)' also marks the first release under a new joint venture between Futures Music Group and Common Knowledge, following the duo's signing to the collective. Between the music and the mystery, JOY (Anonymous) are building something that feels increasingly hard to ignore.