The Joy Formidable
The Big Roar
This is a simple and powerful rock record, which in the early part of the year looked set for a top 5 place on the list, but which waned somewhat as the months went by. Much has been made of the fact that The Joy Formidable are a ‘grunge’ band. That’s loosely true, in that the quiet-loud grunge dynamic is certainly a key aspect of this debut album, as is the predominant reliance on rhythm rather than melody. Having said that, it’s a bit simplistic to label this ‘grunge’; it also draws on British punk, modern indie and, occasionally, on 60s-style ambience (see ‘Llaw = Wall’ as an example). ‘A Heavy Abacus’ has been played to death everywhere, but – while fairly representative – it’s actually one of the weaker tracks to my mind. Much better are the bass driven Blood Red Shoes-esque punk of ‘Cradle’ or the (undeniably grunge!) 90s-evoking ‘A Magnifying Glass’. The power and (formidable) joy of The Big Roar means that on first few listens the album is unbeatable, but it doesn’t quite stand up to repeated listens, at least not over a long period. Nonetheless excellent throughout and, after all, a debut record: I’ll definitely buy their sophomore effort.
The Big Roar
This is a simple and powerful rock record, which in the early part of the year looked set for a top 5 place on the list, but which waned somewhat as the months went by. Much has been made of the fact that The Joy Formidable are a ‘grunge’ band. That’s loosely true, in that the quiet-loud grunge dynamic is certainly a key aspect of this debut album, as is the predominant reliance on rhythm rather than melody. Having said that, it’s a bit simplistic to label this ‘grunge’; it also draws on British punk, modern indie and, occasionally, on 60s-style ambience (see ‘Llaw = Wall’ as an example). ‘A Heavy Abacus’ has been played to death everywhere, but – while fairly representative – it’s actually one of the weaker tracks to my mind. Much better are the bass driven Blood Red Shoes-esque punk of ‘Cradle’ or the (undeniably grunge!) 90s-evoking ‘A Magnifying Glass’. The power and (formidable) joy of The Big Roar means that on first few listens the album is unbeatable, but it doesn’t quite stand up to repeated listens, at least not over a long period. Nonetheless excellent throughout and, after all, a debut record: I’ll definitely buy their sophomore effort.
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