event
The Joy Formidable
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Tue Apr 9
7 pm
The Joy Formidable, Kitten, and Ribs at Turner Hall Ballroom
There aren’t many contemporary bands attempting The Joy Formidable’s particular kind of loud, surging guitar pop. The Welsh power trio has a booming, melodic style—reminiscent of the Lush/Ride “dreampop” era, but cleaner, or like a more modernized version of Big Country’s “big music.” It helps too that The Joy Formidable has simplified its songwriting to stay out of the way of its sound. The band’s second album, Wolf’s Law, is anchored by easy-to-remember songs like “Tendons” and “Bats,” in which frontwoman Ritzy Bryan repeats a catchy phrase over and over over pummeling drums and buzzy guitars, trying to make sure the words ring in the listeners’ heads along with the music. Even when the structure of a song is as involved as Wolf’s Law’s “The Leopard And The Lung”—a swirling six-minute epic that sounds like an early Sinéad O’Connor song, backed by My Bloody Valentine in full Loveless mode—the individual pieces are still tight, direct, impactful.
Turner Hall Ballroom 1032 N 4th St, Milwaukee, WI
There aren’t many contemporary bands attempting The Joy Formidable’s particular kind of loud, surging guitar pop. The Welsh power trio has a booming, melodic style—reminiscent of the Lush/Ride “dreampop” era, but cleaner, or like a more modernized version of Big Country’s “big music.” It helps too that The Joy Formidable has simplified its songwriting to stay out of the way of its sound. The band’s second album, Wolf’s Law, is anchored by easy-to-remember songs like “Tendons” and “Bats,” in which frontwoman Ritzy Bryan repeats a catchy phrase over and over over pummeling drums and buzzy guitars, trying to make sure the words ring in the listeners’ heads along with the music. Even when the structure of a song is as involved as Wolf’s Law’s “The Leopard And The Lung”—a swirling six-minute epic that sounds like an early Sinéad O’Connor song, backed by My Bloody Valentine in full Loveless mode—the individual pieces are still tight, direct, impactful.
Updated 03/26/2013
