Pure Joy by Pure Joy (EP)

Formed in the mid 1980's, Pure Joy (originally the Dwindles) were heavily influenced by the UK's preimminent purveyors of new wave neo-pyschedelia during that period, Teardrop Explodes (in fact taking their name from one of Teardrop's songs) and Chameleons U.K. with whom they would eventually tour. It's this nod to their British musical influences that mostly defined the group's sound, setting themselves apart artistically from most of their Seattle musical peers at the time.
 
Original members were Rusty Willoughby (songwriter, lead singer, guitar), Lisa King (bass), Jim Hunnicutt (drums, vocals), with Randy Willoughby (keyboards and album art) joining after the first EP. Eventually the group would pare down to the core of Willoughby and King, with Hunnicut being replaced by Andy Davenhall (Sister Psychic, Dodi, The Lawnmowers). Hunnicut would reappear with Willoughby in 2015 as the drummer for Llama, Willoughby's group with Johnny Sangster (Tripwires, Neko Case, Mark Lanegan) and Scott Sutherland (Chemistry Set).
 
Pure Joy recorded their first self-released, eponymous EP in 1986, followed by the Unsung full-length in 1987, and the harder edged Popllama Records album Carnivore in 1988, foreshadowing Willoughby's transition to his '90s pop punk group Flop. Pure Joy disbanded after Carnivore but would eventually reform with original rhythm section of King/Hunnicut and release Getz, the Worm in 1998, before evolving into a long and excellent series of solo albums recorded by Rusty Willoughby, the first of which also featured King and Hunnicut.