The Joy Formidable and the exalted HEAVY dreaminess of "Cut Your Face" (Official Video)

 

"Bake this dream / So dry / Cloudless and stolen / The fingers of the ocean / And cares, which cairns, post cares so high / I’ll be back soon / This journey won’t cool..."

The only time I have seen The Joy Formidable LIVE was way back in 2016 when they performed a killer set at the Wrecking Ball FEST in Atlanta, Georgia. I remember a few key things like how mesmerizing front person Rhiannon "Ritzy" Bryan was, a pixie force of nature possessing a kind of beauty that transcends normal conventions. A presence that will still be adorable at 80. I mean as an outside observer, this woman doesn't seem to age. A good genetic advantage for an alt rocker. Sometimes I think that wildly creative artists, as a matter of course, tap into youthful wells and maybe that keep them young. I also remember the incredible synergy with her bandmates that felt more like a kinship.

Now onto the review: 

 "Cut Your Face" is the first of three singles to be released this year following the band's 2021 acclaimed album "Into The Blue" and it is instantly so incredibly engaging and artfully cool. First of all the absolute banging crunchy guitar sound, like an amalgam of Duane Denison (Tomahawk) colliding with PJ Harvey (circa Rid of Me) and then smashing into James Hetfield (Metallica), in terms of unrelenting grit and energy is the engine that moves this track along with a big bass bottom and drumming that feels like it is running away from those aforementioned sounds. Like a lot of The Joy Formidable tracks, the huge sound finds a mercurial, artful dreaminess in Ritzy's vocal countenance, a juxtaposition that feels vulnerable, open with a patina of melancholia. 

Of the track she shares:

“‘Cut Your Face’ is a reminder to myself that even in shyness, when that voice is telling you to hide away, that what I really want is deep, authentic connection. The only way to satisfy that longing is to be vulnerable, messy and imperfect…and life is all the more beautiful because of it.”

It makes sense in listening to this track with it's wild abandon and askew poetry. During the chorus, one line sticks to my brain. It suggests that our open wounds held together by those we let in all the way and vice versa.  

"You cut your face / They’ll never quite see you / It’s a gameshow baby / The moonlight has your thoughts and the daybreak wants your body / Everyone’s a little lost in the mirror & hungry / Our stitches they fell off / But you always held me..."

In the end, "Cut Your Face" and the smartly outrageous Official Video has a post rock / post punk vastness, cinematic in both black and white and color. 

-Robb Donker Curtius

THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM 

https://www.facebook.com/thejoyformidable/

https://soundcloud.com/thejoyformidable

https://twitter.com/joyformidable

https://open.spotify.com/artist/4LdZNE5MHGqvc0N9ivXNF3

https://thejoyformidableofficial.bandcamp.com/

https://www.instagram.com/joyformidable/

https://www.thejoyformidable.com/


"Cut Your Face" is the first release in a collection of three singles out this year and follows the band's 2021 acclaimed album Into The Blue. The Joy Formidable has announced fall UK tour dates and plan to return to North America in 2024.

Comprised of lead vocalist/guitarist Ritzy Bryan, bassist/vocalist Rhydian Dafydd and drummer Matt Thomas, The Joy Formidable are originally from North Wales and currently split their time between there and Utah, “in the middle of nowhere” and the closest thing they could find in the USA to their home turf. Nevertheless, they have remained close to their loyal fanbase and launched TJF Music Club in 2019, with members able to request Backstage access, watch online shows and get exclusive songs and merchandise. It grew and evolved during the subsequent pandemic.







Rhiannon "Ritzy" Bryan, "Cut Your Face", alternative rock, alt rock, singer-songwriter, indie rock, Welsh Alternative band, The Joy Formidable, post punk, cinematic rock, post rock,