The Joy Formidable (The Cockpit: Leeds 2013): Review

The Joy Formidable: Review

The Cockpit: Leeds

25^th February 2013

I happened across The Joy Formidable a few years ago and since then they have earned a lot of airtime on my iPod. Originally, I watched them through a live stream of Radio 1’s Big Weekend (I was ensnared by the intriguing name) and I was immediately impressed by both their musical ability and the glowing stage presence provided by Ritzy and co. Their 2011 debut album “The Big Roar” grew on me a lot over time and I now regard it one of my all time favourite albums.

Since then, I have watched them at the past two Leeds Festivals and kept an eye on the build up to their brilliant sophomore album: “Wolf’s Law”. I was not in the slightest disappointed with the new record and so my excitement for the gig at The Cockpit built. This was not only my first Joy Formidable gig but also my first Cockpit experience, so I was a little unsure of what to expect.

The Cockpit itself has a different feel to it to the O2 Academy or Leeds University. It has a great buzz and atmosphere and I almost felt that I was intruding on a local bar whilst queuing for my pint of Woodpecker. I am a fan of intimate venues so I was immediately happy with the layout of the place as it was reasonably simple to wade to nearby the front before they hit the stage.

The gig began with the howl of a wolf, a sound that represents a lot of the qualities of the second album: the connection with nature, the freedom the band have found and the animalistic power that drives each track. Drummer Matt Thomas arrived first, followed by Rhydian Dafydd and Ritzy Bryan. As soon as they had instruments in hand, they built an epic wall of sound before dropping the recognisable main riff from lead single Cholla.

It was instantly noticeable why the band have such a good reputation for their live show. Ritzy’s vocals held a different quality during a live show in comparison to the album tracks. She seems to have a switch between cute, soothing tones and the sort of powerful notes that made the hairs on my arms stand on end: her presence on stage is nothing short of spellbinding.

After the band launched through the near-euphoric Austere and This Ladder Is Ours I had a fresh respect for the other two members of The Joy Formidable. The bassist’s engagement with the crowd and the drummer’s relaxed yet astonishing style made it difficult to know who to watch as each member owned the stage in their own right. It was around this early point of the gig where the crowd got behind the band and really started enjoying themselves. When asked before the gig if I thought there would be any mosh pits my response was “there’ll probably be one in Whirring” but they were present from the go and I thoroughly enjoyed bobbing around in there over the course of the night.

There was not too much I could fault about the set list. I was a little disappointed that they didn’t play The Leopard and the Lung but that could be a personal preference as the set didn’t feel like it was lacking. They made it up to me however with the inclusion of While the Flies, perhaps one of my favourite songs in their growing repertoire. The set was devoid of a weak moment, Ritzy continued to impress: her expressions varied from a wide-eyed stare to a joyful smile which was merited by the response new songs such as “Tendons” were receiving.

After the raucous start provided by both band and crowd, I was rather pleased to see Rhydian swap bass for acoustic guitar and begin the beautiful Silent Treatment which provided the gig’s gentlest moment.

Here's the video of the band performing "The Silent Treatment".

The pace then turned again with what I can safely say is the biggest crowd pleaser from Wolf’s Law: the brilliantly theatrical Maw Maw Song. With each verse came a shift in tempo where the crowd would come alive, followed each time by the head-bobbing chorus. After a typically insane Joy Formidable breakdown, the song’s last chorus delivered a busy pit in which one of the more senior members of the fan base ended up on the deck. He was still smiling though!

By The Everchanging Spectrum of a Lie I was beyond impressed by the talents of Matt Thomas, who is definitely one of the most underrated drummers in modern rock. With Ritzy and Rhydian’s hectic tremolo picking already reaching top speed, it gave reign to the drummer to take it to another level; the gradually building crashing of the drums brought the song to its grand peak and Matt claimed numerous high fives from the crowd as the band left the stage.

But of course there was an encore to come. It began with the album title track Wolf’s Law, where Ritzy truly showed the two contrasting sides of her voice, providing perhaps her most powerful vocals of the night as the piano driven ballad exploded into life and she belted out “I’ll take the gambling way”.

The final song of the night was Whirring and they clearly save it for last with good reason. The four minute plus outro provided time for Rhydian to go for a spot of crowd surfing and Ritzy (with some help from the audience) to tear the strings from her guitar before the eventual ring of feedback which signalled the end of an amazing show.

Verdict: This may be my first review, but I have been to a lot of gigs previously and I have never known a band looking like they are enjoying themselves onstage like The Joy Formidable do, and its seriously infectious. If you can make it to one of their gigs then get yourself to what will undoubtedly be a thoroughly engaging rock show.