The Joy Formidable are a new Welsh Indie band, and oddly titled ‘The Big Roar’ is their debut album. They factor that makes them stand out from other indie bands is that they have a female lead vocalist, Ritzy Bryan, who’s strong voice blends well with this type of music and gives it a modern Blondie style, even more so because Bryan had bleach blonde hair and striking blue eyes.
The album begins with ‘The ever changing spectrum of a lie’ which, if I’m honest, sounds like a bit of a cacophony of noise at the start and the end, but in between it becomes slightly psychedelic. Bryan’s voice is soft and provides a lovely contrast to the guitar in the chorus. The lyrics are very inventive in this song; I particularly like the line ‘love is the ever changing spectrum of a lie’ which creates a strong image in your mind. I’m not too keen on the finale to the song as it drags on and seems unnecessary, but in general the song is enjoyable to listen to, and a suitable opening to their album.
One song which I particularly like is ‘Cradle’ it has a fun beat and the vocals are very strong. It is perhaps a bit repetitive but it’s enjoyable to listen to and definitely uplifts you. The video to ‘Cradle’ is very creative; the camera is fixed on a close up of Bryan on a see-saw, and cuts between her, and various people on the see-saw with her, it’s well filmed and the rhythm of the see-saw fits in well with the beat of the song.
You get the feeling that this band likes experimenting with sound, song names, and the filming in their videos. With song titles like ‘Llaw = Wall’ and ‘A heavy abacus’ you can tell that they are unusual, and their music video’s reflect that. For instance, the video for ‘Austere’ feels a bit like you’re having a drug fuelled hallucination, with strange shapes and bright red singing lips, very unusual but actually very clever.
It seems this band has a bright future ahead of them, and they are a breath of fresh air from the usual copy cat indie bands that seem to be around at the moment. They have a strong debut album behind them now and can build on that, as long as they keep their individuality they will go far I’m sure. I think it’s great that they have a female lead vocalist as it gives an edge to their music and helps them stand out from the crowd. I'd expect to hear a lot more from them in years to come.
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