Live Review

The Joy Formidable – Wrexham, Central Station

• 19th Apr 2010

The landscape of Welsh music has been a little bare as of late. Long gone are the heady days of ‘Cwl Cymru’ with bands such as Catatonia, Stereophonics and the Manics dominating both the charts and UK festivals. Finally there is a light at the end of the tunnel in the shape of the more than aptly named The Joy Formidable. This rather brilliant three piece from South of divide are tonight showing the North what true up and coming talent looks like.

A good crowd has gathered at the always superb Central Station in Wrexham and you can sense an air of expectation to say the least. The band finally arrives on stage to a warm reception and then proceed to lay down a marker for all other new bands that follow them in 2010. Their sound cannot easily be described being part pop, rock and more importantly plenty of enormous car crushing noise. Ritzy Bryan (good name to say the least) makes for a superb front for the band, providing both an element of glamour combined with a vicious quality lacking in other females in music. The crowd sing along gleefully to tracks streamed via the internet as another glimpse of modern music rings out all too clear. The band seem more than comfortable on stage almost basking in their own presence. Confidence is a valuable commodity and this lot has an overflow going on at the moment.

Live music in the UK has reached such a low point that one travelled to gigs with little expectation. Tonight provided the first truly happy night of musical entertainment in quite sometime. It’s more than possible to close one’s eyes and see the band making it big in the next twelve months, without doubt. The Joy Formidable is undoubtedly a name to conjure with in 2010. They now head to the USA for a lengthy tour which I’m sure will be equally the success tonight was for the good people of Wrexham.