What the world needs now is The Joy Formidable — because there are few bands fit to soundtrack these maniacally uncertain days quite like the Welsh alt-rock trio.
Thankfully, Ritzy Bryan and the boys are back with a new album, a new single, and a tour that hits The Sinclair in Cambridge on November 6. While details on the forthcoming LP — the follow-up to 2016’s Hitch — are scarce, we do have a teaser track to keep us warm. It’s called “Dance of the Lotus,” and it’s available to all who sign up for the band’s mailing list. Hear a snippet below.
“We wanted to share this album track with the people who have supported us to give them a glimpse of what we’ve been working on, and this track is right at the heart of our new record,” says Bryan. “It’s magical and lonely, like a nighttime walk in the desert when you’re trying to escape from yourself and the chaos you’ve created.”
The animation for the “Dance of the Lotus” video was done by award-winning Boston production team Trllm, continuing the band’s ongoing mutual love affair with our city that began a decade ago at 101.7 WFNX.
“We’ve definitely made a colourful, mystical collage with this record, partly because of our surroundings,” adds Bryan. “Those multi-colored sunsets and the primeval elements of nature in the Southwest — it’s emboldened our imaginations in the songwriting and the production.”
Get into it below.
Featured image by Timothy Hiatt.
The Joy Formidable Tour Dates:
June 16 – The Bunkhouse Saloon – Las Vegas, NV
August 16 – Open Air Gampel Festival – Gampel, Switzerland
August 18 – Pukkelpop Festival – Hasselt, Belgium
August 24 – Leeds Festival – Leeds, UK
August 26 – Reading Festival – Reading, UK
October 17 – The Casbah – San Diego, CA
October 19 – Lodge Room – Los Angeles, CA
October 23 – The Independent – San Francisco, CA
October 26 – Doug Fir Lounge – Portland, OR
October 27 – Fox Cabaret – Vancouver, BC
October 28 – Neumos – Seattle, WA
October 31 – Globe Hall – Denver, CO
November 1 – recordBar – Kansas City, MO
November 2 – Turf Club – St. Paul, MN
November 3 – Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL
November 4 – Horseshoe Tavern – Toronto, ON
November 6 – The Sinclair – Cambridge, MA
November 7 – Underground Arts – Philadelphia, PA
November 9 – Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn, NY
November 10 – Black Cat – Washington, D.C.