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


    Post new comment

    The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
References to Artrocker refer to content created before 21st October 2011 and are to be considered archived in light of the trademark registration of 'Artrocker'.

Rabbit, Rabbit All Day Long...

Top 5 Downloads

  • Bully For You

    Gorgeous Bully From: Plymouth, United Kingdom The more sanitised, synthetic and computerised mainstream music becomes the more the discerning music lover yearns for something a little more...
  • Johan Reinhold - Shoot Me Down Remix EP

    Having already garnered quite a following in his native Sweden, Johan Reinhold is introducing himself to our ears with his indie-electro-pop sensibilities in the form of a remix EP. Music after the...
  • Corpse Lights: A Curdled Churn

    Woe betide any unfortunate soul who suddenly has a flash of inspiration and records one of the most brilliant songs of the year in mid-December: it simply won’t even get heard amongst all...
  • The King Khan Experience

    I Love The Way You Howl King Khan recently retired The Shrines and The BBQ Show and started a new project – The King Khan Experience. He’s been getting compared to Jimi Hendrix his...
  • Secret Diaries: Parcel Delivery

    Secret Diaries have one of those supremely satisfying band names that make you wonder why no-one has thought of it before. I love it when that happens. And speaking of ‘supremely...

Latest News

Have You Read?

  • Volcano Choir - Unmap

    What we know about Justin Vernon: he’s a fantastic songwriter with a soulful voice, which has slowly but surely found widespread acclaim with Bon Iver. We also found out from the Blood Bank EP...
  • Primitive Festival Volume 7, Rotterdam

  • You Already Know - Stop Whispering

    I have a theory that you can tell how interesting a band are likely to be by where they call ‘home’ – where they practice and create the music that they’re likely to inflict...

Photos

  • In Pictures: FOE

    Photos from a recent FOE gig - a friend of our friends Hold Your Horse Is - she’s gonna be big!!! Read the gig review after the jump.
  • In Pictures: Avett Brothers

    Shots of North Carolina’s folk-rocking Avett Brothers’ stop in Glasgow - 22.08.11 Read the review of the gig here.
  • In Pictures: Latitude Festival 2011

    Take a look at the acts and art on offer at this year’s Latitude Festival in Suffolk. Included are the likes of Fight Like Apes, Lykke Li, Sea of Bees and Seasick Steve. Photos from our own...
  • In Pictures: Bad Guys at the Old Blue Last

    Good time with Bad Guys. Photos from the May 29th gig at the Old Blue Last. Read the review by the Bad Guy himself, Stuart London after the jump.  
  • In Pictures: White Lies and Crocodiles at Shepherd's Bush Empire

    Artrocker.com exclusive: for fans of White Lies and Crocodiles we’ve got some fresh pictures from their UK show at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire earlier this month, courtesy of Alessandro...

Blogs