We'll ransack the town

Guaranteed* ways for new bands to get a free pass from me:

1. Be from London.
(1a. Be from London via Wales)
2. Have a girl in the group.
(2a. Have a pretty girl in the group)
3. Rock like bastards.

Come to the front of the queue, The Joy Formidable. Their influences include Cable (!), eels and Grandaddy, and may be the only band I've written about that list Aubrey Beardsley as an influence. You can download four of their songs for free from here. My favourite is their single 'Austere', which is a big tease. It threatens to take off, bubbling under some fuzzy bass and kick drum, for a whole minute, before melting faces with a lovely wall of noise. It's under three minutes long and still has time for a big ol' noisy ending. And it's called austere, a grossly underused adjective, so there's that.

[download The Joy Formidable - Austere]



[The Joy Formidable myspace / youtube]
[Pre-order 'Austere' on 7" here and get it signed]

* Guarantee may not exist.