The Joy Formidable Frontwoman Ritzy Bryan Speaks About the Band’s Chemistry and New Album ‘Hitch’

Matt Matasci

Welsh rock band The Joy Formidable was formed when longtime friends Ritzy Bryan (guitar) and Rhydian Dafydd (bass) moved back to their hometown of Mold in North Wales. Drummer Matthew James Thomas joined in 2009 rounding out the current lineup. The band is set to release their third full-length studio album “Hitch” on March 25. The first single to be released from the album is “The Last Thing on My Mind” and it features an NSFW video – the twist being it stars a plethora of men boogying in the nude. Lead singer and guitarist Ritzy Bryan took the time to talk to Entertainment Voice about “Hitch” and how the band has evolved over the years.

You’ve known The Joy Formidable’s bassist Rhydian Dafydd for most of your life, and drummer Matt Thomas has been in the band since 2009. In what ways do you find having such a strong, tight core is an advantage in the songwriting and recording process, as well as when touring?

I don’t really like to think of it as just a band advantage. It’s something unique and rare in life to have [a] friendship that means something. Writing wise, it’s great for the openness, the intuition and being able to fight and be passionate without anyone’s stinking big ego getting in the way. You meet some of the best and worst people in this industry, so I don’t take it for granted that we have [one another] and that after seven years we still love making music together. 

You went into the recording sessions for “Hitch” with the goal of capturing your incredible live sound. What techniques or strategies did you employ in order to get this sonic quality and how did it differ from those on “The Big Roar” and “Wolf’s Law”?

The biggest difference was setting up permanently in North Wales and being able to leave the tape running. I think “Hitch” has a sense of its own space. You hear the room; We’re welcoming you into this recording session. “Big Roar” and “Wolf’s Law” . . . they have a live aesthetic, too, but we moved around more during the making of both of those records.

Your current album does a great job of combining elements from different genres of music. Who were some of the artists that influenced you during the making of the album and what specifically about them was so inspiring to you during the creation of this LP?

In the back of our studio room we had a record player, and we were digging through some vinyl from back home in North Wales. All sorts of stuff, new and old. I reckon the one light switch that got turned on from that was listening to Jethro Tull and Blodwyn Pig and thinking, fucking hell, we’ve forgotten how great flute can sound on a rock ‘n roll record. That probably triggered dropping Laura J. Martin a line and asking her to play on “Passerby” and “Underneath the Petal.” Aside from that, Rhydian really got into Flamenco and Cuban music after traveling [to Cuba], which inspired the nylon string guitar and the finger picking. We revisited “Astral Weeks” quite a bit, one of my all time favorite albums; Arthur Lee and Love, some great blues records, Wishbone Ash, Marlon Wilson and Yes. 

How do you feel the sound of The Joy Formidable has evolved from your debut EP “A Balloon Called Moaning” to your current album?

Sonically, we like switching things up from song to song even, album to album as we grow as people, as musicians. We dabble with sounds, with production, wherever the track takes us. It’s important to be in the moment doing what you truthfully feel like doing creatively. On the first EP, we wanted to mess with different synthetic drum sounds for instance. On this record, we knew exactly what live drum sound we wanted to capture. And that’s just one example, if you get an idea that excites you, you should run with it. It’ll all make sense or not make sense later. 

As a woman, do you think it is important to push for a more positive and open environment in the music industry and is the video for “The Last Thing On My Mind” a reflection of that?

Yes, I do. It should be by now, but I think we’ve still got things that need flagging. We wanted to make a statement with that video about gender roles, about the imbalance of sexual representation in music videos. It’s just one piece to keep the conversation going but it’s a conversation that needs to happen. 

You absolutely nailed the cover of the “Twin Peaks” theme song “Falling.” What played into your decision to cover the track and how did you approach putting your signature on such a powerful and iconic song?

We basically got excited about the prospect of a new series of “Twin Peaks” and then became distracted in the studio whilst making the album. Nothing more to it! It’s a great track and when we cover a song we’re always celebrating that at the same time as momentarily making it our own.

“Hitch“ is available March 25 on Apple Music.