The Joy Formidable – Into the Blue

The long absence of so much during COVID has made us all appreciate the things we went without, the things we took for granted, back in the before-time....
The Joy Formidable : Into the Blue
7.9 Epic/Full Time Hobby
2021 
The Joy Formidable : Into the Blue

The long absence of so much during COVID has made us all appreciate the things we went without, the things we took for granted, back in the before-time. Such as Wales’ The Joy Formidable, who have been delivering great, pressing indie-rock for over a decade now (QRO live review of tenth anniversary of debut EP). They keep that up with the strong Into the Blue.

The band’s epic, can’t-believe-this-only-comes-from-a-three-piece sound is well-established by now, but that’s because they know how to do it right. The opener/lead single/title track (QRO review) manages to be both atmospheric and intimate in its slow, moving nature. There’s their more straightforward grand nature on the following “Chimes” & “Sevier”, but also higher sounds & emotions with “Back To Nothing”, and the ominous loss a-coming in “Bring It To the Front”. The band also experiments with quieter sounds on Blue, including the whispers-over-near-metal “Gotta Feed My Dog”, acoustic change-up “Somewhere New”, and the soft-build-into-big closer “Left Too Soon”.

The Joy Formidable aren’t radically changing their sound with Into the Blue, and don’t need to. They’re bringing back what they do best.

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