The Joy Formidable

While at Reading back in the summer, I didn’t get much of a chance to see bands playing on the BBC Introducing stage. The lowliest stage of the festival, it was just a small tent with bands you’ve never heard of playing to people passing by on their way to one of the chip vans. I’ve no doubt that a lot of these bands would have been talented, but in the limited time that a festival allows, you tend to head for what you know. So the only band I ended up seeing there was . In retrospect, I wish I’d gone to see the car crash of a set by the FF’ers, but that’s a different story.

I went along being vaguely familiar with one of their songs, and if I’m honest, because there was no one better on at the time. It was worthwhile though. They played a good little set to a good little crowd and all was right in the world. Then I didn’t think about them again for another six months. Exploring their website shows that things have seemingly picked up for them. Tours with Howling Bells, album and single releases are all in their recent past.

Which is good because there aren’t a great many bands around that sound like this at the moment. Or maybe there are and I’m unaware of them. But this is noisy, dirty pop, vocals leaping in all over the place even if you can hardly make them out. It feels like something that would be right at home next to My Bloody Valentine, just with a little more melody. Lazy comparisons aside, it works for them, and it seems to be getting them a following. Not bad for a band that was only being introduced by the BBC six months ago.

A Balloon Called Moaning is now available as a free download from the band’s website, or as a CD/poster pack from the same place.
The awesome Cradle single is also available now via Try Harder Records. On 7 fucking inch only.