New Waves.. The Joy Formidable - 'Cholla'

Well, new for me any way, I swear these days that I must live with my head in the ground because, once again, this had totally passed me by. I was aware that the band were playing two small shows prior to the album being released but wasn't aware of a single. I sure keep up to date!

'Cholla' is what could be described as typical of The Joy Formidable; their name certainly encompasses their sound, as the band manage to juxtapose ferocity with somewhat soaring guitars and Ritzy Bryan's innocent sounding vocal; a far more grittier voice would be expected of her in order to compliment the aggression, choosing to compliment the softer elements is far more interesting.

The song would have been right at home on the band's début album, The Big Roar, and with this as the lead single, their follow up, Wolf's Law seems very promising!

Wolf's Law itself is expected on 21st January 2013. The band recently announced that they would be touring in the new year in support of the album. Dates as follows:

January
Tuesday 22nd Liverpool, Kazimier
Wednesday 23rd Norwich, Waterfront
Friday 25th Belfast, The Limelight
Saturday 26th Dublin, Academy
Monday 28th Cardiff, Solus
Tuesday 29th Bristol, Fiddlers

February

Sunday 24th Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
Monday 25th Leeds, Cockpit
Tuesday 26th Glasgow, Oran Mor
Thursday 28th Manchester, Ritz

March

Friday 1st Wolverhampton, Wulfrun Hall
Saturday 2nd Sheffield, Leadmill
Monday 4th Brighton, Concorde 2
Tuesday 5th Exeter, Phoenix
Wednesday 6th Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms
Friday 8th London, The Roundhouse

http://www.thejoyformidable.com/

http://www.facebook.com/thejoyformidable

https://twitter.com/joyformidable

Rapid Review.. Lostprophets - 'Jesus Walks'

I follow Ian Watkins on Twitter. Fact. Yes, the twee fangirl in me appears to be persisting even in my impending evolution into adulthood. I began to make the transition into 'alternative' music around the age of 10-11 and, along with other bands that flirted with the mainstream (eg. Linkin Park, Evanescence, MCR, etc) Lostprophets were one of the first bands that I could definitely say that I was an utter fan of!

But anyway! a few Watkins-Re-Tweets in my Twitter feed later and I found myself watching this video, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised! I regard the first two Lostprophets albums, The Fake Sound of Progress and Start Something, with a sense of nostalgia, and The Liberation Transmission was a good pop album however, I wasn't amazed by their fourth album, The Betrayed. I found the lead track 'It's Not the End of the World..' rather weak so I didn't really put any effort into The Betrayed, and as a result, Lostprophets just slipped off my radar. I vaguely recall fifth album, Weapons being released a few months ago, but that was all.

'Jesus Walks' on the other hand, is a pleasant and surprising return to form! It's pure pop, a late summer anthem, and containing the great euphoric sing-a-long's that Lostprophets are known for. Everything is working here - the melody, the lyrics, it's all good! The song talks of having the strength to stand on your own two feet and the solidarity of believing in yourself, and flicking through some song teasers on iTunes, there appears to be some other tracks on the album that are growers too, so I may write a review up soon, which will be somewhat interesting for me as Lostprophets developed their sound taking a variety of influences in their first three albums (FSOP - new metal and experimental, Start Something - differed from song to song, Liberation Transmission - pop rock anthems), although the singles that I have heard from The Betrayed and Weapons seems to show them settling more definitely on a signiature sound.

On the other hand, check out the vid! Lostprophets tour the UK starting November 1st at Wolves Civic (hometown gig for me, should I go, should I go?)!

Wolverhampton Civic Hall (November 1)
Preston 53 Degrees (2)
O2 Academy Sheffield (3)
Edinburgh HMV Picture House (5)
Inverness Ironworks (6)
O2 Apollo Manchester (8)
Portsmouth Guildhall (9)
London Alexandra Palace (10)
Norwich UEA (12)
Lincoln Engine Shed (13)
Newport Centre (14)

http://lostprophets.com/
https://twitter.com/lostprophets
http://www.facebook.com/lostprophets