Wolf’s Law
The Joy Formidable's Nineties-loving songs are wickedly bracing and Himalaya-huge. Like the band's 2011 full-length debut, The Big Roar, Wolf's Law brings howl clouds of guitar attack on songs that can lurch forward or flare up, then push and pull in any direction. The Nirvana-like tension and release are echoed in singer Ritzy Bryan's subtly cutting PJ Harvey-like lyrics: "Maybe I'm not ready for the 'maybe' you were ready for," she sings, cooling a guy's jets before they even get a chance to take off on "Forest Serenade." At times, it feels like they're glue-gunning hot ideas rather than writing fully realized songs, but they've come up with some fine Frankensteins nonetheless.