Altsounds - The Joy Formidable - A Balloon Called Moaning [Album]

So have you heard The Joy Formidable? Yes? Well done you have been proved worthy, you will be anointed with a sword made from glow-in-the-dark jelly babies and given a cape to wear made from the skins of indie kids complete with skinny jeans. No? No! You will be made to suffer in the simplest of manners then, (yes that's right) locked in a room and made to watch endless re-runs of Lily Allen's TV show... oh yes, suffer you shall. For The Joy Formidable must be heard and must be heard by all; hell, they are giving it to you for free at least have the decency to listen and become enamoured. It's not too much to ask.

OK, OK, maybe I've been a little harsh (I stress the maybe!) but seriously The Joy Formidable are an intriguing prospect on record. Their debut album 'A Balloon Called Moaning' is a fine piece of art, and art it is people, from conception, to the artwork, to the mode of delivery to our ears, and of course it's content - this is art.

This art comes from the minds of Ritzy Bryan and Rhydian Dafydd (the +1 is drummer Matt Thomas), now being a couple in a band has to have it's fair share of ups and downs at least you'd expect so but I guess there can be another side to things and that's in the music that can be created by the situation and in 'A Balloon Called Moaning' Ritzy and Rhydian have deftly created the sound of sexual tension and the gradual elevation of said sexual tension, just listen to the juddering bass-lines or the majority of Ritzy's cooed vocals - now go forth and rut people.

Opening with 'The Greatest Light Is The Greatest Shade' which breezes and shimmers in before the electro-clash guitar slices a neon hole and all is awash with echo and scuzz and that guitar, boy that guitar it's splashed all over as Ritzy gets the cooing on reiterating to us over and over; "This dream is in a telescope now" and harmonising along to the stabs of guitar before gently coming to rest. Though the gentle doesn't last as 'Cradle' smashes in all affronted "I can see he says what he means... sticks and stone and apologies" creating more of an edge that once more has lacerating guitar and to make the anger a little more palpable we get the slightly stammered "My vicious tongue cradles just one" delivered to drilled drumming.

'Austere' is slightly more subtle when it comes to showing the anger much like a seething woman where man will never quite grasp what he's done wrong if anything. It sounds very much like Yeah Yeah Yeah's with the Zinner-esque guitar strutting mercilessly like an assassin in the night in the most heated moments of the track, set in contrast to Ritzy's pleading calls and slinky vocal delivery "Austere don't let me down". Blending seamlessly into 'While The Flies' which for me is a particular highlight is so deft in it's delivery but an almost uncontrollable urge to explode at any moment, and once again heads back in the sexual direction as Ritzy purrs "I'd hate to throw out all the panties I've stored" and Rhydian intones "I'll take you with me I am falling inside" with the track finally taking off into the night on a wave of effervescence.

"All these things about me you never can tell" is the mantra for 'Whirring' set to a jutting rhythm and an almost simplistic hidden melody drifts in and out complimenting the general furore that whirs up around it. There's almost a lull with '9669' as an acoustic guitar is all that accompanies the vocals of both Ritzy and Rhydian in what seems to be a much more gentle approach as they exchange "You make the call so make the call shorter" - "You break the spell or make the fall harder" it's quite a contrast from the rest of the album but again plays to the themes of sex and relationships with the final refrain of "Nine, six, six, nine, you're on my mind".

'The Last Drop' drops in immediately with Ritzy's vocal accompanied by razor guitar. There's a sense of My Bloody Valentine but with legible vocals culminating in the chorus of "How come it's all around me?" laced with a sonic wall of noise and a lull of dreamland delight before the reprisal of the cacophony - listen to this loudly folks. Culminating in the dark noirish 'Ostrich' that has a dirtiness about it whilst simultaneously maintaining a sheen and a twinkling of guitars. Finishing up with an impressive display of shoe-gazing distortion, fuzz, and ratatatat drumming.

'A Balloon Called Moaning' is like a sonic version of the assault course on Krypton Factor, it's hard and you might get stuck some places, you know you'll end up wet in the end, but you also know that you'll get there and feel accomplished, successful and people will no doubt want to sleep with you having been on TV (OK this might not happen listening to The Joy Formidable unless you are seen doing it on TV).

This is a great album and even though there's only got 8 tracks I find myself thinking that really it needs no more and no less - 'A Balloon Called Moaning' you are beautiful just the way you are.

Track Listing
1. The Greatest Light Is The Greatest Shade (5:20)
2. Cradle (2:47)
3. Austere (3:04)
4. While The Flies (3:40)
5. Whirring (3:34)
6. 9669 (2:49)
7. The Last Drop (3:25)
8. Ostrich (4:37)

The Joy Formidable
Ritzy Bryan - Guitar/Vocals
Rhydian Dafydd - Bass
Matt Thomas - Drums

The Joy Formidable Online
The Joy Formidable on MySpace Music

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