The Joy Formidable – Wolf’s Law (2013)

The Joy Formidable are one of the most interesting and exciting bands to come out of the rock scene in the last decade. For all the hipster clichés that inhabit so much music that is lauded by so many alleged faux-authorities on indie rock, TJF actually feel like the real deal, making diverse, original and loud rock music. Blending indie aesthetics with fuzzed up psychedelia and an attitude akin to My Bloody Valentine or Sonic Youth, with a Smashing Pumpkins type melancholy also present in their style. At least that was their debut album, 2011’s The Big Roar and prior EP, A Balloon Called Mourning. The much-anticipated follow-up from the Welsh trio, Wolf’s Law, shifts their stance bit. Having received a decent amount of exposure and attention in independent circles due to those extraordinary releases, the band have capitalised and by the sounds of it, endeavoured to see where they can take this “thing”, producing an album much more streamlined, polished and filled with songs that almost sound unremarkable in comparison to earlier work. Is it a “safe” second album? Maybe, as it will possibly garner a fresh fan base, but is it a compromised and crap album then? Well, not at all, but it may take a while to appreciate what, if any type of achievement Wolf’s Law is. The core members of the band have been around longer than it seems, and here and now, shenanigans are over and we have a serious attempt at breaking through.

The first two tracks, ‘This Ladder is Ours’ and ‘Cholla’ are the singles even if the latter is not officially released as one. They are in every way a “single”. Polished beyond anything they have done before; engineered to sound massive. Not that they are weak tracks in any way either (quite the opposite), but they are born from a structure and simplicity that will garner higher radio play than the rest of the record. This is ok, because a band of this calibre deserves any exposure it will generate on its own but also because they are still great songs; showcasing a song writing maturity that while they might not be as exciting or unique as anything on The Big Roar, is undeniably listenable,  fun and rocking. ‘Cholla’ featuring a window shaking main riff where bass and guitar are blurred as one to full effect. These tracks, indeed the whole album, get in your head. Eventually. The band has proven to be able to go from overtly catchy, genre breaking fuzz on Roar, to subtle, burrowing riffs and melodies that will have you craving for more listens slowly but surely on Law.  TBR simply hit you over the head with its originality and quirk, those songs were INSTANTLY there, planted in your head begging for repeat listens after the very first. Wolf’s Law will take time, and if anything, first impressions can be misguided in this instance.

As the album moves along, the middle section proves to be the least favourable with the first five and last four tracks easily the most workable. The middle three remain experimental for the band, and don’t quite work fully, though ‘Forest Serenade’ has moments that soar. ‘The Leopard and The Lung’ stands out as the most complete track of them all; showing the band get it exactly right for the sound they were looking to achieve. Shoegaze-lite never sounded so good. ‘The Hurdle’ follows with more of the same consistency though ‘The Turnaround’ perhaps tries to do too much as a closer, focusing less on guitar and more string arrangements. But as is the case often, front woman Ritzy Bryan’s vocals take the track to another level. The real closer however, is the unlisted title track. A haunting crescendo of piano and psychedelic guitar layered behind more vocals that defy Bryan’s small stature. A song delivering epic levels of stadium rock and emotion.  Her vocals sound so good on this record it’s to the point of on the stripped down acoustic ballad, ‘Silent Treatment’; it is all her voice can do to save this track from being nothing but filler.

Despite the more pop leanings here compared to it's predecessor, the album is actually still fairly heavy. Produced by the band and mixed by Andy Wallace, this comes as no shock and even if his metal influence is only slight (there is definitely one present in Matt Thomas’ drumming), the riffs and bass can sometimes feel like lead they are so bottom heavy at times. Some of the levels of fuzz on Wolf’s Law would do Dinosaur Jr and the Melvins proud. Besides the heavy elements of production, it does seem that the over polished sound overall has caused the band to lose some of their rawness which made The Big Roar sound so amazing, but thankfully their individuality and aura remain intact. Not to mention the musicianship of all three members. The songs may not be as spontaneous sounding or have the quirky little nuances that made tracks such as ‘Austere’ and ‘Cradle’ so unique, but I believe they’ve shown maturity and being a band willing to try to broaden their sound. Working hard to grow and expand. This naturally yields mixed results and tracks such as ‘Bats’ and ‘Maw Maw Song’ feel like mini failures. The latter borrowing too heavily and obviously from Muse’s sound from the last few years. An interesting comparison is Muse though, as the three piece seems to be something The Joy Formidable are keen to possibly emulate. I hope this is not true. In essence one of the best ways to describe the album’s sound would be to say it is 12 songs similar to ‘; the epic finale to The Big Roar, ''The Greatest Light Is the Greatest Shade’, but not all work on such levels.

If they were embracing the Sonic Youth structure of noise taking a track from simplicity to epic by its end on previous recordings, here The Pixies blueprint of loud-quiet-loud is used more often. Inconsistency does forbid Wolf’s Law from becoming something truly great however, but what does work is still fresh and damn good rock, led by the towering Ritzy Bryan vocal work. So once you get comfortable with the fact that Hipster radio will probably soon have ‘Cholla’ on high rotation declaring them the second coming (despite already arriving), you’ll find Wolf’s Law is a solid, worthwhile record that despite its few stumbles shows a band willing to make progression and not trying to repeat themselves ad-nauseam. Not interested in art-rock statuses or appealing to a certain market; The Joy Formidable are aiming high and for the time being remain a nice diversion of the heavier side of indie rock. If they stay on this path, causing each record to stand on its own, the band will be relevant and cutting edge for a while to come.

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