The Joy Formidable

Wolf’s Law (Warner)

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This British trio plays what can only be called “meat and potatoes rock,” a straight-up guitar band with an absolute firecracker of a singer in Ritzy Bryan. Her bleached-blonde bangs and wild eyes make The Joy Formidable a leading live show, but its fierce, frenetic energy translates just fine on its second full-length. The mood can change drastically, thrillingly: “I had a reason but the reason went away!” Bryan sneers on “Bats,” before saying the same thing quietly, on the acoustic “Silent Treatment:” “Over you/I/That’s all you’ll get from me.” Strings, synth and piano help out along the way, but it’s the core band that’ll get you. A textbook case of familiar done well.