The Joy Formidable at the Media Club, Aug 15 2010. Robyn Hanson photo
- text by Shawn Conner/photos by Robyn Hanson
Had the pleasure of seeing The Joy Formidable the other night (Aug 15), and it was a great show; a Welsh trio finding its wings after winding up a North American tour, and obviously on the verge of must bigger things (the band was recently signed to Canvasback Music/Atlantic Records). Advance buzz, at least on Twitter, was great guns for the live show, and the band didn’t disappoint; just under an hour of buzzing, crashing, feed-backing indie-rock. The Joy Formidable, esp. guitarist/signer Ritzy, loves its feedback and sound pedals, and a few times the group, which has one 8-song EP to its name, drove the music into a wall of distorted sound. The song “Poppinjay” stood out, but for me the highlight was Ritzy’s feedback adventure, propping up her guitar against her amp and returning to the edge of the stage to adjust her pedals and play with the feedback.
After the set, Ritzy manned the merch table, which was immediately surrounded by fans just about everyone who had ventured out to the Media Club for the hot August night set.
