Making a return to their capital city after four long years, north Walian rockers The Joy Formidable are back tonight in the sweaty room that is The Globe. Backed onstage by the artwork of recent single Cut Your Face, the trio appear on stage and break into a double whammy of Caught On A Breeze and Sevier.
“Shwmae Cardiff! It’s been too long!” shouts bassist Rhydian Dafydd, before Ostrich – from 2009’s debut EP A Balloon Called Moaning – leads into The Greatest Light Is The Greatest Shade, which appeared on both that EP and the band’s 2011 debut album The Big Roar. The trio are in perfect harmony this evening, and this is evident most during the seven-minute sonic assault of Whirring: here, the talents of drummer Matt Thomas come to the fore, as he fair hammers away at his kit.
There’s also some Welsh language treats tonight – the first of which, Twrch Leuad, is from the band’s Music Club Subscription Service (which vocalist Ritzy Bryan describes as a “support mechanism” for TJF), and while Rhydian deals with some technical problems, Ritzy explains to the room that while Welsh is her second language, her confidence has grown over the years. This is even more evident when the band play Yn Rhydiau’r Afon: the band’s first entry in their Aruthrol Welsh Language singles series, it’s arguably the highlight of the evening.
There’s also some learning in the room, when before main set closer Share My Heat, Ritzy tells the room about her visit to Wales – a town in their adopted home state of Utah, it was founded by Mormon miners. (Its neighbouring town is called Chester, too.) The trio return for an encore: opening with Wolf’s Law cut Little Blimp, continuing with that album’s title track, and ending with Left Too Soon from the most recent TJF album Into The Blue.
The evening has been a timely reminder that The Joy Formidable are one of Wales’ most underrated bands and have become indie stalwarts of the finest order.
The Joy Formidable, The Globe, Cardiff, Tue 26 Sept
words JOSHUA WILLIAMS