The debut album from Welsh trio The Joy Formidable is a complex mix of energetic indie and textured layers of guitar, not unlike My Bloody Valentine or the Charlottes. I struggled to engage with it initially, but the combination of Welshness, shouty female vocals and a lovely album cover has eventually won me over.
I was expecting a tighter sound from the three piece, possibly like the Subways, but the Joy Formidable provide a greater depth and soundscaping to all of their tracks. It could all descend into worrying shoe-gazing territory, but singer Ritzy Bryan's voice cuts through the overloaded guitar effects like a squeeze of lemon on a stodgy risotto, or perhaps a smattering of Welsh goat's cheese on a citrus tart. She's clearly a star in the making, with a massive future in the shouty-indie genre.
The best tracks are the straightforward charms of 'Cradle' , the anthemic burst of 'The Magnifying Glass' and best of all the quiet/shouty juxtaposition of 'Chapter 2'. It's proof if nothing else that it's almost impossible not to like any lower league Welsh band and the Joy Formidable have produced an album with so much promise and passion that you can only see them becoming more successful. It won't be to everyone's taste, but I'll recommend it anyway.
The mention of My Bloody Valentine and The Charlottes piqued my interest. Bit too far on the wrong side of catchiness for my liking though. If it sounds pretty sing-a-long after one listen I suspect boredom will set in after ten, then annoyance after twenty. Catchy = bad.
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