New Music 2013 - Part 8 - Wolf's Law

One of the things I am really coming to like now is the fact that there are some bands and artists that I have followed, often as a result of festival performances, since the early days and who are continuing to flourish. This is one of them, The Joy Formidable, and here is the band early one day on the small but lovely Sunset Stage at Latitude Festival 2008, before the release of their début mini album 'A Balloon Called Moaning' (2009).

They release their second full LP 'Wolf's Law', and the follow up to 'The Big Roar' (2011) on Monday, 21 January - on Canvasback Music distributed by Atlantic Recordings. To say that their live performance is energetic would be litotes of some order.

They are touring the UK and Ireland in support of the album between late January and early March and I'm much minded to try and catch them during the latter stage of the campaign.

A Balloon Called Moaning

A Balloon Called Moaning - what does that mean as an album title? Well nobody seems to know except those responsible, and they are not telling! This is the first release from a band that I had not heard of until I saw them play on the 'Sunset Stage' at Latitude 2008 and I think I've found live picture from that gig that I haven't used before.

L -R: Justin Stahley, Ritzy Bryan and Rhydian Daffydd.

Ever since it has been on my list of bands not to forget.

When I discovered in January that Pure Groove Records were to release their début album I could hardly wait.

Eight tracks and 29 minutes: some would call it a mini-album. It is however several minutes longer than they were allocated to play their set at Latitude - but it doesn't take long, for better or for worse, to make a lasting impression.

Call it what you like but there is no point reviewing the tracks individually.

I could easily have been disappointed by the weight of my expectations here, as has happened many times before, but this is just brilliant and I'm so glad that I saw them live first.

Happy New Year 2009

What is happy about 2009, you might ask? Well you have three options:

• I'm an optimist
• I'm resorting to escapism
• I'm doing both

Well, in my first post of last year I didn't include 'happy' and look what happened in the world in 2008. Not all of it was bad of course but I'd rather be one looking forward in anticipation than that dwelling on what happened (or didn't) and fortunately music lends itself to this approach.

This is thus my thoughts on 'New Music - Part 1' What to look forward to in 2009. I have just pre-ordered my first 2009 release and it is the curiously titled début album by a band I mentioned last summer, having seen them live at Latitude 2008, and that is The Joy Formidable.

A Balloon Called Moaning - The Joy Formidable
UK release: 9th February 2009

This is the first 2009 album that I have ordered so far and I rather hope that it will be just the first of many. That looks likely because 'Two Suns', Bat For Lashes' second album, is set for an early April 2009 release, which will then be followed by a short UK tour. Music in 2009 will provide endless surprises and even the main reviewers know that, sometimes.
Pop, and curious fantasy, will be prominent again - Victoria Hesketh who (after many band-related trials and tribulations) seems to be the main stream reviewers' favourite in her true-self incarnation 'Little Boots'; likewise I've already mentioned Florence Welch (and The Machine) and that could be pretty scary until you add the apparently cute, but often lyrically shocking, SoKo (newly a singer and songwriter but long an all-round performance-artist, Stephanie Sokolinski) to the list whereupon 2009 starts to look decidedly special and that is that is just for starters! [See here for a recent review of her performing live and here for my review of her set at Latitude 2008.]
I will mention Phantom Limb again. I want to remind you about the album and point out that they are performing live at The Griffin in Frome, where they are already something of a phenomenon, on Friday 16th January 2008. If things go the way they should then in six months time that will no longer be possible! Then again it is a little luxury to live within walking distance of a pub that brews its own beers and has its own MySpace page!