The Joy Formidable

Welsh trio the Joy Formidable made a big roar with The Big Roar, the 2011 debut that put them on the frontline of loud/melodic guitar bands. Founding members Rhiannon (Ritzy) Bryan (guitar, vocals) and Rhydian Dafydd (bass) started the group in 2077, after a temporary move to Manchester and a stint with two bands (Tricky Nixon and Sidecar Kisses) which hadn't caught on outside Wales. Their early singles and first EP A Balloon Called Moaning (with original drummer Justin Stahley, replaced afterward by Matthew James Thomas) stirred a buzz in the UK and led to some early festival shows, and their eventual major-label signing with Atlantic subsidiary Canvasback. The release of The Big Roar found the Joy Formidable perched somewhere between the louder side of shoegaze and the dreamier edge of arena-rock; the songwriting likely covered a number of aggressive-to-depressive moodswings. Accordingly they earned comparisons to everyone from My Bloody Valentine to Kings of Leon. It made a respectable chart showing in the US and UK, and led to touring with Muse. In America they played both Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza, and the single "Whirling" got heavy alternative airplay. Their arena-rock flirtations continued with a live cover of Springsteen's "Badlands," which eventually made it to a B-side. While touring they wrote songs for their second album, Wolf's Law. More ambitious than the debut, it has a denser sound and more obvious prog-rock influences. During this time they also released a series of Welsh-language singles. Bryan and Dafydd's relationship ended during the making of their third album Hitch, as a result the lyrical themes of romantic angst and emotional isolation were more upfront than before. The band however stayed together and released an acoustic EP, Sleep is Day, which included re-workings of earlier tracks and a cover of Bowie's "Ashes to Ashes." 2018 brought their fourth album, Aaarth which added a stronger dose of electronica to their sound. In fall 2018 they were one of the bands (along with Speedy Ortiz and Dinosaur Jr.) who were hand-picked to open the Foo Fighters' US stadium tour.