> I much prefer when you start with a big-blob of joins to define the data source before getting into the applied operations

That's essentially the model we've chosen for XTQL, with the addition of a logic var unification scope for even more concise joins: https://docs.xtdb.com/intro/what-is-xtql#unify

Also, anyone interested in this post-SQL space would probably enjoy this recent paper: https://www.cidrdb.org/cidr2024/papers/p48-neumann.pdf