The Joy Formidable

If you’ve followed this site for a while, you might know I have a severe weakness for female-fronted indie pop bands, so it’s no surprise that I was immediately taken by Welsh noise-pop trio, The Joy Formidable. They fit their name perfectly, their music is punchy, melodic, and uproariously joyful. The band’s blend of dream-pop and alt-fuzz and Ritzy Bryan’s gleeful, belted-out vocals, have garnered them comparisons to Asobi Seksu and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
“Cradle” is an in-your-face pop explosion. The layered hooks grab you immediately and don’t let up for the entire song. The track is pure enthusiastic, noisy pop with a stomping drum beat and anthemic vocals. It’s been stuck in my head for days, and I’m sure you’ll feel the same way. “Austere” is a bit more shoegazy with some great vocal interplay going on (the backing vocals feel like they’ve been snapped out of the disco era). Again it’s the infectious melody that really makes the song stick. The band is giving away for free a mini-LP, A Balloon Called Moaning, that includes these two tracks (which you can also download below) and six more. You can get it on the band’s website. Awesome!
MP3 Cradle
MP3 Austere
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