Audio By Carbonatix
Advertising Can't Do It Alone
The challenges facing local news organizations are very real. That's why reader support matters more than ever. If you believe independent journalism matters, make a contribution today and help us reach our summer fundraising goal of $25,000 by August 9.
Formed in 2007, North Wales’s Joy Formidable could just as easily have come together ten years earlier. The trio’s sound is, at times, reminiscent of a Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness-era Smashing Pumpkins, carried by guitarist Ritzy Bryan’s anthemic vocals. But its sonic trickery goes beyond genre; with a basic guitar-bass-drums instrumentation, Joy Formidable pulls off a total audible illusion, creating the kind of massive sound made famous by Arcade Fire. The simplicity goes a long way, and allows for Bryan’s voice — sometimes ethereal but always weighty — to give the group its discernible punch. Bassist Rhydian Daffydd slides into the frontman position from time to time, but it is Bryan’s beautiful and diverse voice that makes Joy Formidable memorable. From bedroom to studio recordings, the trio consistently stays big, as evidenced on 2011’s The Big Roar, a collection of new songs and tracks recycled from previous EPs.
