The Joy Formidable at The Barfly

The Joy Formidable at The Barfly

by: Pete Spoonfed

The Joy Formidable thaw out a snow day

There's a sense of almost unfounded pride and engorged achievement when you finally reach your destination on a snow day. When you rock up to the final Sailor Jerrys Presents... show after three previous and highly successful nights at the Camden Barfly, you feel you might as well be in a Carling commercial. The camaraderie and cheer that comes with a sold out venue uniting against a slew of London snow is charmingly endearing. Tonight’s the turn of The Joy Formidable, and there couldn't be a better fit.

With the poor weather apparently not affecting the foolhardy crowd which gradually inflates to full capacity once The Joy Formidable hit their stride, one can't help but grumble to learn that, for all our efforts, the first band have been snowed in. The stage remains empty as the floor fills. But any gripes, misgivings and levels of sour cynicism are swiftly dispelled by a quick jaunt to the bar and the appearance of Stricken City, a London four-piece whose exotic branding of fashion-rock raises a defined and stylized – if slightly disingenuous – fist to the winter that falls outside.

Stricken City have an inherent suave and cool to their performance, instilled perhaps by front-woman Rebekah Raa's dalliances in the fashion world. But their take-it-or-leave-it approach to music doesn't make the impact it intends. My mind conjures scenes of indolent rehearsal time cut short to fulfill other whimsy. There is just something missing – absent – and my attention is lost. The jangling guitar of Iain Pettifer falls distant from the bass and drums. Raa's quavered melodies – interspersed by trills from a Korg synth perched on beer crates – tries to link everything together, but can't quite stitch the loop. They’re good, but improve as backing music to soundtrack small talk at the bar.

The Joy Formidable however can't help but grab the audience’s attention: mouths drop dumbfounded at the enormous sound created by the band’s three members. They start softly, stirring ambiance that stills the crowd beyond murmur before clattering into the kick of 'While the Flies’. It's the loud-soft formula perhaps overused in the early ‘90s, but here extrapolated and engaged to fulfill a state of urgency and intimacy true to the atmosphere of the Barfly on a frost-bitten evening.

Demonstrating what was missing in Stricken City's set with their intelligent understanding of how songs change once performed, singer/guitarist Ritzy Bryan owns the stage with a stupefied obsession with her guitar and its effects. Their performance accentuates their sound and vice-versa. When Ritzy gazes wide-eyed into the crowd, you find yourself hoping to be caught under the stare, before being dragged back to beat with the rush of Matt Thomas' snare, purging fleeting desires into reality.

It takes four songs for Ritzy to speak out to the crowd; but it doesn't matter: by that time we’re already hooked, slung into the somniferous clamour of The Joy Formidable sound.

Thanks to Sailor Jerrys. Spiced rum and cool tattoos are always a winner in our books. While you're here, make sure to check out James' interview with The Joy Formidable.

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Pete Spoonfed