It’s gonna overrun this town
As soon as the moon goes to nothing
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait
They’re always gonna run you down
It’s better to face my something"
~The Leopard and the Lung
The Joy Formidable, Wolf's Law
When I first discovered The Joy Formidable (I think it was sometime early last year on a radio station) I knew I'd stumbled upon something different. Something intense. Something fresh. Something firmly rooted in punk and thrashy rock 'n' roll unafraid of its own interpretation for the future. And when I saw Ritzy Bryant murder the hell out of some pedals, I was only more excited to see what their second LP would contain.
"Wolf's Law" feels like a collection of songs that build upon the best efforts of "The Big Roar," only there's more urgency here, a rapid onward assault replacing where there was more reflection. But that makes sense - Joy Formidable is moving forward, doing things like opening for Muse, and I think this record was a "go-big-or-go-home" moment for them. I think it's hella fun, and I think it's a perfect choice to soundtrack a productive, independent-fueled Saturday.
"Wolf's Law," released in January 2013, does not disappoint for first-round fans. There's the same ascension of tightly coiled riffs into an excessive avalanche of distortion and noise, and the same smooth melodic rocks anchoring said noise. The same tartness to Bryant's voice,only it's layered over and over itself on nearly every track, creating somewhat of a spacey harmonic fullness. It's also just a really fast record - in tempo and in structure. In that sense there's almost a prog-like transition sensibility(See "Maw Maw Song").
Lyrically we hear a lot of pointed aggression, the same honest-and-almost-accusatory narrative, but we also hear a lot of struggle in the face of ambition ("I had a reason but the reason went away/We keep hanging on," Bryant sings on "Bats"). One of the biggest surprises here was "Silent Treatment," a rather raw and beautiful dressed-down ballad right smack in the middle at track six.
Maybe it could be easy for someone to look at The Joy Formidable and say "What do we need with another indie rock band?" But they'd be doing themselves a world of disservice, because Joy Formidable does what a lot of indie rock bands don't.They walk a lot of genre lines. Their influences are clearly the edgier side, the louder side, the dirtier side, which is all ultimately refreshing when every other new song on every other trendspotter playlist is more soft and timid and bearded than the next. Most importantly, they're undeniably true to their own sound (as their second LP proves) This is not a record for feeling sad or hopeless, but this is a record for finding ferocity in the face of any circumstance.
But I’m hot-wired, quick-feelinged
So I’ll take the silent treatment
I’ll take the silent treatment."
~Silent Treatment
The Joy Formidable, Wolf's Law
