New EP to be released in November via Tipping Point Records.

13.10 – London, The Courtyard Theatre
01.11 – Brighton, The Hope And Ruin
02.11 – Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach
03.11 – Bristol, The Old Bookshop
04.11 – Southampton, The Notes Cafe
06.11 – Glasgow, Broadcast
07.11 – Newcastle, Head Of Steam
08.11 – Manchester, Fallow Cafe
09.11 – Leeds, Oporto
10.11 – Birmingham, Sunflower Lounge
17.11 – Norwich, The Shoe Factory Social Club

As you might expect, it was with great joy that It’s All Happening heard the news that The Joy Formidable would be releasing their sophomore album. Having spent the last couple of years gathering rock celebrity fans with their intense and angsty music, they are back with Wolf’s Law, an absolutely stunning album, full of celestial grandeur and mountainous brutality.
Things kick off in traditional Joy Formidable style, with swirling orchestral sounds and crashing drums, bubbling up to an impressive and dizzy beginning in the form of This Ladder Is Ours. Second track Cholla was released as a teaser back in 2012, and its spectacularly fiery riffs and mixture of tempos and temperaments were not deceptive. The Maw Maw Song is an earworm if I have ever heard one, it’s syncopated beat and twang compulsive rollicking along, its dominant riff simplistic yet powerful. Coming just after the slower Silent Treatment, it marks the start of side 2, as the artistic packaging informs us. A beautiful end to the album comes in the form of The Turnaround, an immensely epic, brooding, yet unsentimental song, foreboding and formidable.
Ritzy, Matt and Rhydian have done it again.

Reviewed by Becky Glass

It starts well: coats draped over rows of vinyl, spotlights on low, and a crowd so benevolent they’re emitting an actual glow. The semi-transformed Oxfam shop on Kingsland Roadis an enchanting venue from the off – relaxed, calm and unpretentious: quite a surprise for mid-town Hipsterville. Add the lively warbling of Kyla La Grange to warm up the crowd and you’ve got a winner.
We had a winner. Emerging quietly confident, murmuring the first notes of her first song, Lucy Rose’s voice washed over the jumble as bewitching, as natural, as warming as sunlight.
The effect is soporific and uplifting at once. It’s a folksy Feist; Laura Marling without grit. And it’s addictive: the melodies and the sound get into your head, as weirdly familiar as your own thoughts.
Appreciative, undemanding and solid, Lucy makes a natural stage presence, unaffected in conversation with the crowd. ‘This guitar is a terrible instrument,’ she says, ‘When I’m rich and famous enough, I’m going to smash it up on stage.’ I don’t believe her; I think she’d recycle it – but the affected shyness, the artful wistfulness that makes other female folkstresses so irritating just isn’t in her at all.
In these respects, she’s a joy to watch. But if there’s one thing Lucy’s music can be faulted on, it’s a lack of passion. There’s just no rough edge to her: her words are expressive, but don’t seem to connect with real emotions. It’s not the troubled, tortured cry we’ve come to expect from a girl and a guitar.
But for Lucy, therein lies her charm. She really seems authentic, truly herself in her music. It’s lovely, it’s honest, and in its insistence to be simple, it’s wonderfully strong.
There isn’t much around at the moment that can have such a hypnotic effect on you – especially live. If just for that, Lucy is worth a watch.
And angst is passé anyway.
http://soundcloud.com/lucy-rose/first-mix-m-02

Reviewed by Francesca Baker

Atmospheric wind and whooshes, punctuated by the dull thud of bass open Black Currents EP, with Breathe Easy the perfect introduction to Rachel Sermanni’s dextrous shuffles along the fretboard and earthy emotional songcraft. The momentum soars as Rachel sings ‘I hold my hands up, my bloody hands up’, and makes this track a perfect introduction to Miss Sermanni, combining Rachel’s wide eyed gentleness and fierce headstrong music. The round lulling of the words breathe easy and the crisp enunciation throughout make the vocals a delight to listen to. Title track Black Current is a folk ballad, its story telling evocative and execution rich, and Song To A Fox an ethereal journey, undulating between high sweet melodies and almost spoken affirmations, delicate plucking of strings and scuffy guitarwork . Standout is The Fog, the chopping slices of the strings evoke thrashing waves against the rocks of her native Scotland, as well as the relentless rounds of emotions that life throws up.
Rachel’s touring schedule is pretty hectic at the moment, and It’s All Happening! were invited along to see her at the beautiful Union Chapel. Having only ever seen Rachel perform solo with her guitar in smaller, more intimate venues (including our own private gig in the gardens of Brighton pavilion) we were unsure as to whether this sweet young girl would be lost amongst the nine members of her band.  Fears were soon quelled, as Rachel vocals and guitar, powerful and raw led the music, absorbed in it but never swallowed by it.
There is a strength and variety in the songs not so evident on The Bothy Sessions EP, possibly influenced by her recent move from Carrbridge to Glasgow, where ‘Jazz, folk, indie – all the spheres seem to meld together and there are no boundaries, which creates an incredibly healthy scene.’ Continuing her friendship with all things Communion based the EP was produced by Ian Grimble, and a solid driven vitality envelopes the record. The only thing he has been unable to capture is Rachel’s  off beat quirkyness and captivating balance of blushing shyness and confident mischievous minstrel. For which the only cure is to get to a live show again soon.