The Joy Formidable – Birmingham Academy

The Joy Formidable

March 20, 2010

With squinted eyes, it would be quite plausible for someone to mistake tonight’s support band, Baddies, for The Futureheads. With squinted (what is the aural equivalent of squint?) ears it would perhaps be more plausible to reach the exact same conclusion. The foursome’s high octane pop rock certainly shares the toe tapping and the head nodding qualities of said Mackems but despite being extremely polished and confident for a support in a gig this size, there’s something lacking here to elevate the band beyond just being an adequate appetiser to the oncoming main course.

The Joy Formidable are an odd beast. There’s really nothing exceptional about what they do and how they go about it and yet they are one of best examples of a band being so much more than the sum of their parts. They have a big sound for a three piece, all epic power chord blasts that thrill when they hit top tempo, and they manage to fill the stage with a mixture of good energy and old fashioned stage presence. This is mostly due to the fire which emanates from lead guitarist and singer, Ritzy Bryan. Her steely, unblinking eyes hypnotise and at times it’s difficult to look away, which is no bad thing in this instance. Whether it’s Bryan’s powers of mind control, the general good vibe of the gig or perhaps even the copious watery beers, I walk away from tonight’s gig with an unwavering desire to buy all the band’s output and spread the good joyful word.

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