The Joy Formidable
Ritzy Bryan is nostalgic on the opening night of The Joy Formidable’s UK tour; it’s around the time of the Welsh trio’s tenth anniversary and their first visit in years to the beloved Norwich Arts Centre, a venue familiar to the rock outfit from frequent visits at the beginning of their career (courtesy of local legendary Annie Catwoman).
This run of dates is in support of ‘AAARTH’, the band’s fourth album released late last year. On it, the band, completed by bassist Rhydian Davies and Matt Thomas on drums, stray from their reputation for churning out arena-ready alt-rock bangers, opting to craft a more ethereal sound, drawing in their native Welsh language across its duration too.
Tonight’s show is as much a tribute to the past as an embrace of the present and what’s yet to come for The Joy Formidable. The classics are out in full force – Cradle, This Ladder Is Ours, the unforgettable banger that is Whirring – with the odd deep cut sprinkled in for good measure; Ostrich from 2010’s ‘I Don’t Want To See You Like This’ EP and even a Christmas song which “we only ever seem to play in Norwich”, audaciously titled My Beerdrunk Soul Is Sadder Than a Hundred Dead Christmas Trees.
Newer cuts slot in like missing pieces; Cicada (Land On Your Back) is an arid behemoth complete with insect chirps that echo eerily in the dark, The Wrong Side a lurching three minutes that blossoms from crunchy guitars to an enthralling chorus. The ethereality of it all – such an exquisite sound magnified by the Arts Centre’s unique acoustics – makes for a genuinely striking 90-minute experience.
More tenth anniversary celebrations are on the cards this year, claims Ritzy. If they included a return to Norwich, there’d be no complaints from us.
