One of the first really cold nights of the year in Iowa just happened to be the same night the duo Joseph played at the Englert Theatre in Iowa City. The less-than-ideal conditions resulted in a pretty small crowd, but it was the first show of Joseph’s tour, and they weren’t going to let the weather wreck the show.
The duo, consisting of sisters Natalie and Meegan Closner, focused on the songs from their new album, Closer To Happy. As you’d expect though, they mixed in some older songs from when Allison, Meegan’s twin sister, was in the band. “This song is dedicated to Allie, wherever she is,” they said at one point.
“Just kidding,” they quickly followed up. “We know exactly where she is.”
After 10 years as a trio and four albums together, Allison left Joseph in August of 2024, having decided she didn’t want to do music as a career anymore. Their latest record is Joseph’s first since Allison’s departure.
“It's hard to say if this is the album we would have made if Allie stayed in the band, but I think it's just what happened,” said Meegan, who shares vocal duties with Natalie. “It was not forced in any way. We just kind of started in and tried to figure out ‘What is this going to be?’ and let it tell us what it was.”
The sisters may not have set out to do things differently, but by necessity, this is a very different-sounding Joseph record.
“When our sister Allison was in (the band), there (were) so many vocal parts that could be covered with the three of us, (and) I think we felt very bare without the third voice,” said Meegan. “I think (Allison’s departure) also created room to try new things to even be bigger. Sometimes when the three of us were all doing something different, or going very loud, it could be too much. So I think that this one, we really filled the space in a different way.”
Natalie credits producer Luke Niccoli for his many ideas on how to “fill that space.”
“One of the things we had never thought to do is in the recording,” said Natalie. “He was like, ‘Well, why don't we stack your vocals with harmonies of your vocal?’ And usually, because we're a live band, we'll just be like, ‘this is my part and I'll sing it.’ ]But] this was really cool, because we got to play around with a lot of different vocal production ideas that were just kind of wild.”
If you listen to Studio One, then you've been hearing “Ready To Let You Down,” from their new album. The song struck me as being about relationships and unrealistic expectations, and I wasn’t far off.
“It's about a million relationships for me personally, both romantic and lots of other kinds of relationships,” said Natalie. “Like mentors, teachers and family. And I think it's like a general messaging that I'm trying to shirk, which is just like, you have to ruin yourself for the expectations of other people. I think, you know, being in our mid 30s in Megan's case, and late 30s in mine, and going through the kinds of loss that we've been through in the last few years, we had a lot to say.”
In their live performance, Natalie and Meegan are accompanied by a drummer and backing tracks. Natalie plays guitar and handles some vocals, but most of the big lead vocals are handled by Meegan, and they’re essential in driving home the very personal nature of the songs. In particular, “I Stand For Myself” is a standout track for Meegan.
“It's just a very vocally intense album for me,” said Meegan. “I'm singing some very high notes, but also some of the softer songs I'm going from very low in my voice to very high, very quickly. And that is some gymnastics.”
The show in Iowa City that kicked off Joseph’s tour came just a few months after Natalie and Meegan visited Revival Clothing Store for a listening party.
“We basically had our audience of people who had small business brick and mortar (stores) apply if they wanted to host a show,” said Meegan. “And Revival applied, and we went through and we picked spots based off of what looked like the best vibe and also the [tour] routing. So it was perfect.”
“And then when we got here, we learned a ton about this place from Maggie, who hosted us,” said Natalie. “She was like a walking encyclopedia about Iowa City, and we learned that it's basically the best place to live in this country.”
When we talked, Natalie and Meegan acknowledged they weren’t in the “songwriting space” at the time, but were in the “sharing space,” where they can just experience people’s reactions to Closer To Happy.
“I always look forward to, when we're working on the songs and moving through the human emotion of it, just wondering who else has felt this,” said Natalie. “So that's the thing I'm most looking forward to, is just hearing if there's anybody out there who relates to some of what we're talking about.”
“Our audience is always so generous and warm-hearted,” said Natalie. “And so I'm excited for that connection.”
Closer To Happy is available at Bandcamp and streaming services, but be sure to check with your local record store first!