Whirring – The Joy Formidable Whirring – The Joy Formidable (Free Download / Buy)

The first release from The Joy Formidable (@joyformidable), A Balloon Called Moaning, was one that captured my attention immediately. With a perfect marriage of melody and hostility, the grizzled guitars and forceful vocals represented an achievement in musicianship. Music very rarely possessed such a sustainable blend of catchy pop-like riffs and punk-based tones. Their January release, The Big Roar, was one that I waited for eagerly and certainly didn’t disappoint when the moment arrived.

Several of the stronger tracks from their first release, are present on the new album such as “Cradle”, “Austere”, “Whirring”, and my favorite song of theirs, “The Greatest Light Is The Greatest Shade”. While the two versions are remarkable similar, their production nuances have varying effects on the music. In the case of “Austere”, the production quality seems to have decreased the raw quality of the track, leaving us with a far tamer version. With “Whirring”, a song that is less aggressive overall, this new version adds an additional layer of tones that I appreciate more than the stripped down qualities of the original. The differences may be small, but it’s always interesting to see the direction a band will take a song in the event that it’s release for a second time.

The first track on The Big Roar, “The Everchanging Spectrum of a Lie”, is, for me, the strongest new song on the release. Opening with a drawn out intro of pops, bangs, and a build up of The Joy Formidable’s familiar buzzing guitar tone, it maintains a forceful pace through its verses and catchy chorus, expanding towards a pretty incredible finale. Other standout songs such as “Abacus” and “Chapter 2” are exactly the sort of hard-hitting tracks I’ve come to expect from this band. With unique vocal melodies and blistering guitar hooks, they represent a truly expansive soundscape and vision. “Llaw = Wall”, with deep string tones and a slower pace, offers a moment to breathe before releasing into a full chorus of guitar and percussion.

While this is an incredibly strong release overall, a few of the new songs tend to resemble more generically branded music of the genre. Granted, Ritzy Bryan’s vocals will certainly always distinguish their sound from the standard post-punk releases with gritty guitars and boisterous choruses. With many of the same tracks and a very similar tone, though, The Big Roar, doesn’t necessarily represent a expansion of the band’s repertoire. That being said, their tone was certainly one that struck me before and continues to do so now.