The Joy Formidable | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Mold, Flintshire, Wales |
Genres | Alternative rock, dream pop, shoegazing, indie rock, post-punk |
Years active | 2007–present |
Labels | Canvasback Music, Atlantic Records, Warner Music Group, Black Bell Records |
Members | Rhiannon "Ritzy" Bryan Rhydian Dafydd Davies Matthew James Thomas |
Past members | Justin Stahley |
Website | www |
The Joy Formidable is a Welsh alternative rock band, formed in 2007 in Mold, Flintshire, and currently based in London, England. The band consists of Rhiannon "Ritzy" Bryan (lead vocals, guitar), Rhydian Dafydd (bass, vocals) and Matthew James Thomas (drums, percussion). The most recent album, Into the Blue, was released in 2021.
Childhood friends and then couple Ritzy Bryan and bassist Rhydian Dafydd originally played together as part of Manchester band Tricky Nixon, which later reformed into Sidecar Kisses. [1] After Sidecar Kisses split up in 2007, they regrouped, returning to their Welsh home town of Mold, and formed the Joy Formidable with Justin Stahley on drums. [2] In July 2008, they released their first official single, "Austere". It was followed by a Christmas single, "My Beerdrunk Soul Is Sadder than a Hundred Dead Christmas Trees", issued as a 2008 digital download, and the "Cradle" double 7" in 2009. The band's debut EP A Balloon Called Moaning was released exclusively in Japan on 17 December 2008, followed by a UK release in March 2009.
In 2009, Stahley was replaced with Matthew James Thomas. That April, they teamed with a new label started by Passion Pit's Ayad Al Adhamy, Black Bell Records, to release A Balloon Called Moaning in the U.S, earning favourable reviews from NME , The Guardian , The Times , Spin and Pitchfork.
In 2010, the band signed to Canvasback Records, a subsidiary of Atlantic, and began work on their debut album, The Big Roar, which was recorded in London. [3] Dafydd said that "(it) covers a lot of emotional range. It's captured the battle between the eternal optimist and the manic depressive". The album was produced by the Joy Formidable with help from engineer Neak Menter. The band traveled to Los Angeles to mix it with producer Rich Costey, who had worked with bands such as Mew, Muse, Foo Fighters and Glasvegas.
The Big Roar was released on 24 January 2011 and included early singles "Austere", "Cradle" and "Whirring" as well as two further singles, "I Don't Want to See You Like This" and "A Heavy Abacus" ("Whirring" was later sampled by the Lonely Island on "YOLO"). [4] In July 2011, they released an EP through their website entitled Roarities . In November 2011, their song "Endtapes" was featured on The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn film soundtrack. They also joined a US tour with the Foo Fighters and Social Distortion. [5]
On 23 August 2012, the song "Wolf's Law", was released as a free download from their then-upcoming second studio album of the same title. Two official singles, "This Ladder Is Ours" and "Cholla", were released in late 2012, the former peaking at no. 24 on the US Alternative Songs chart. [6] The band's second studio album, Wolf's Law , was officially released on 21 January 2013 in the UK, and the following day in the U.S.
Most of the writing for Wolf's Law was done on the road during the 12-month tour in support of their previous record, The Big Roar. [7] Commenting on the writing process for the album, Bryan explained that the songs for the album were approached with vocals and one accompaniment (either guitar or piano) before being built upon, stating, "It's all about the lyrics, the voice and the melody". [8] The vocals and guitars were recorded in January 2012 in Maine, while drums and additional orchestral and choir pieces for the record were scored and recorded by the band in February 2012 in London. [9] Mixing duties for the record were handled by Andy Wallace while the record's production was completed by the band. [10] The album title referred to Wolff's law , a scientific theory by Julius Wolff which posits that bones may become stronger in response to stress as a form of adaptation. According to Bryan, this related to one of the major themes of the album, which is "relationships on the mend and feeling reinvigorated"; she continued that the album felt like the band reconnecting with themselves emotionally and spiritually. [10] [11]
For Record Store Day on 20 April 2013, the Joy Formidable released a limited-edition 12" single of "A Minute's Silence", an outtake from Wolf's Law , backed by a live cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Badlands". [12] "Silent Treatment" was later released as the album's third and final single in July 2013. [13] In July 2014, the band began releasing monthly vinyl singles, titled Aruthrol, consisting of songs sung in their native Welsh language released as a double A-side with a contribution by another artist. Three singles, "Yn Rhydiau'r Afon", "Tynnu Sylw" and "Y Garreg Ateb", were released exclusively on 7" vinyl in collaboration with Colorama, White Noise Sound and Bloom & Heavy Petting Zoo. [14]
The band released their third studio album, Hitch , on 25 March 2016. [15] The band also uploaded a new song titled "The Last Thing on My Mind", accompanied by a self-produced montage music video consisting of clips of scantily clad or nude men, which Bryan explained to be in response to the over-sexualisation of women in modern media, stating "We don't condone objectification in general, the point here is, when the media representation is imbalanced, if we're mostly seeing women sexualised or objectified, from a male perspective or otherwise, it's limited, it's damaging and frankly; it's boring too".[sic] [16] The band released their fourth album, AAARTH , on 28 September 2018. The band also joined Foo Fighters for a short tour. [17]
The band released their fifth album, Into the Blue , on 1 October 2021. The single "Into the Blue" was written in Wales but recorded in Utah, where they are residing. It was released in March 2021 in advance of the album. [18] On 4 June 2022, the band began their world tour, starting in their home town of Mold, Wales, UK at the Rhosesmor Village Hall, Mold, Wales, before setting off to the US and back to many cities in Europe.
The Colour and the Shape is the second studio album by American rock band Foo Fighters, released on May 20, 1997, through Roswell and Capitol Records. It marked the official debut of the Foo Fighters as a band, as their eponymous 1995 debut album was recorded entirely by frontman Dave Grohl and producer Barrett Jones. The Colour and the Shape is widely considered a defining album of the post-grunge genre, with its three singles becoming permanent staples of rock-oriented radio in the United States.
Mold is a town and community in Flintshire, Wales, on the River Alyn. It is the county town and administrative seat of Flintshire County Council, as it was of Clwyd from 1974 to 1996. According to the 2011 UK census, it had a population of 10,058. A 2019 estimate puts it at 10,123.
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"Times Like These" is a song by American rock band Foo Fighters. It is the fourth track from their fourth album One by One, and was released as its second single on January 6, 2003.
Wolf's Law is the second full-length studio album from Welsh alternative rock band the Joy Formidable. The album was released on 21 January 2013 in the United Kingdom, and on 22 January 2013 in the United States, on Atlantic Records.
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"Austere" is the debut single by Welsh alternative rock band The Joy Formidable. It was originally released in August 2008 on 7" vinyl on the Another Music=Another Kitchen label. The song and band gained much exposure when YouTube removed a fan-made music video. An official video was put together featuring the band playing pass the parcel. The single was re-released for their debut album The Big Roar and a new video was made, featuring the band performing the song.
Tricky Nixon was a four-piece band from Manchester, England and was a former band of The Joy Formidable's vocalist/guitarist Ritzy Bryan and bassist Rhydian Dafydd. Their music has been described as "sleazy The Breeders guitar thrash and tasty harmonies, with sugar and spike boy-girl vocals and pummelling Pixies bass and drums." Their Welsh language song "Paid A Gofyn" ("Don't Ask") was citied by Hefin Thomas on the BBC Radio Cymru website as "one of their top 10 favourite Welsh tracks of the decade" in 2009.
The Big Roar is the debut album by Welsh rock band the Joy Formidable, released in the UK on 24 January 2011 on Atlantic Records, with a US release following on 15 March 2011. The tracks "Austere", "Cradle", "Whirring" and "The Greatest Light Is the Greatest Shade" were originally featured on the band's debut mini album A Balloon Called Moaning. These songs were re-recorded for The Big Roar.
"Whirring" is a song by the Welsh alternative rock band the Joy Formidable. Written by the band, it was originally released on the band's debut EP, A Balloon Called Moaning, in 2009 before being re-released on the band's debut full-length album, The Big Roar, in 2011.
Wolf Alice are an English rock band from London, England. Formed in 2010 as an acoustic duo comprising singer Ellie Rowsell and guitarist Joff Oddie, Wolf Alice have also featured bassist Theo Ellis and drummer Joel Amey since 2012.
"I Don't Want to See You Like This" is the second single from the Joy Formidable's debut album, The Big Roar, released by Atlantic Records on digital download and EP as well as a 7" picture disc. A music video for the song was released on 27 September 2010 and was directed by Martin Rhys Davies.
"A Heavy Abacus" is the third and final single from Welsh alternative rock band The Joy Formidable's debut album The Big Roar, released in July 2011. A music video for "A Heavy Abacus" was directed by Christopher Mills. The song charted at number 25 on the Billboard Alternative Songs, and stayed on chart for fifteen weeks.
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Hitch is the third studio album by the Welsh alternative rock band the Joy Formidable. The album was released on 25 March 2016 by the C'mon Let's Drift label in the UK, and Caroline Records in the US.
The discography of Welsh alternative rock band the Joy Formidable consists of five studio albums, one live album, three extended plays and 15 singles. Their debut extended play, A Balloon Called Moaning, was released in December 2008, followed by their debut studio album, The Big Roar, in January 2011, which reached No. 31 on the UK Albums Chart, and produced the singles "Whirring" and "A Heavy Abacus", which reached No. 7 and No. 25 on the US Alternative Songs Chart, respectively. Their second studio album, Wolf's Law, was released in January 2013 and reached No. 41 and No. 51 on the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200, respectively. Their third studio album, Hitch was released in March 2016. Their fourth studio album, AAARTH, was released on 28 September 2018. Their fifth studio album, Into the Blue, was released on 20 August 2021.
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Into the Blue is the fifth studio album by the Welsh rock band The Joy Formidable. It was initially released on 20 August 2021, and was reissued in a deluxe edition with two additional songs on 14 September 2022. The album was written in the band's native Wales but recorded at their retreat in Utah, United States; the band described the setting in Utah as an inspiration for the album's sound and atmosphere.