Biography
Sought-after Welsh rock trio The Joy Formidable are the latest act to
sign to Canvasback Music/Atlantic Records. The label will release the
band's full- length debut in early 2011. The Joy Formidable’s eight-song
EP "A Balloon Called Moaning" has won them critical praise from a
variety of outlets, including the NME, who have consistently raved about
the band's style of "grungey pop [that] is sure to win over swathes of
converts." SPIN called the release "ambitious," noting: "drenched in
fuzzy bass, propelled by...driving percussion… the album transforms
ear-stabbing reverb into something pretty, airy, girly and sometimes
dark." The New York Times' Jon Pareles praised the songs' "cryptic
lyrics that glint with urgency," and said that "the music regenerates
the turbulent haze of 1990s rock, but it's less tormented and more
anthemic, confident of the pop structures at its core."
The Joy Formidable was conceived by longtime friends Ritzy Bryan and
Rhydian Dafydd when they were both students in Wales. After they
relocated to London and brought in drummer Matt Thomas, they got down to
writing material for their upcoming debut album. The resulting sound
melds the huge expanses of the band members' native Welsh countryside
with the hectic nature of their new London home. That sound has won them
the praise of the UK press and airplay on the UK's Radio 1. The band
has been working in the studio on tracks recently with highly regarded
producer/mixer Rich Costey (Muse, Foo Fighters, Glasvegas) in
anticipation of an early 2011 album release; a single from those
sessions, "I Don’t Want To See You Like This," is due out this fall.-- via artist's Website
sign to Canvasback Music/Atlantic Records. The label will release the
band's full- length debut in early 2011. The Joy Formidable’s eight-song
EP "A Balloon Called Moaning" has won them critical praise from a
variety of outlets, including the NME, who have consistently raved about
the band's style of "grungey pop [that] is sure to win over swathes of
converts." SPIN called the release "ambitious," noting: "drenched in
fuzzy bass, propelled by...driving percussion… the album transforms
ear-stabbing reverb into something pretty, airy, girly and sometimes
dark." The New York Times' Jon Pareles praised the songs' "cryptic
lyrics that glint with urgency," and said that "the music regenerates
the turbulent haze of 1990s rock, but it's less tormented and more
anthemic, confident of the pop structures at its core."
The Joy Formidable was conceived by longtime friends Ritzy Bryan and
Rhydian Dafydd when they were both students in Wales. After they
relocated to London and brought in drummer Matt Thomas, they got down to
writing material for their upcoming debut album. The resulting sound
melds the huge expanses of the band members' native Welsh countryside
with the hectic nature of their new London home. That sound has won them
the praise of the UK press and airplay on the UK's Radio 1. The band
has been working in the studio on tracks recently with highly regarded
producer/mixer Rich Costey (Muse, Foo Fighters, Glasvegas) in
anticipation of an early 2011 album release; a single from those
sessions, "I Don’t Want To See You Like This," is due out this fall.-- via artist's Website