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Jan 22, 2013The songs on this album are echoing, but not distant; they connect on a personal level, and then pull the listener along in a mighty heave.
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Feb 11, 2013This second album is less of a record than an experience. You truly get a sense of cosmic alignment here.
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Kerrang!Feb 11, 2013In amongst their sleeker, poppier, but still hard-hitting grooves, they're not afraid to tackle big issues, either. [26 Jan 2013, p.55]
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Feb 11, 2013Wolf's Law doesn't expand on the Joy Formidable's sound so much as it cements their sound.
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Jan 25, 2013Wolf's Law, the second studio album from The Joy Formidable, finds the Welsh trio building upon its already gargantuan sound with remarkable aplomb.
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Jan 24, 2013Overall, Wolf's Law largely oversteps the sophomore slump.
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Jan 22, 2013With consistently strong songwriting and an intrepid grasp on its own talent, the Joy Formidable has in Wolf's Law a near-perfect follow-up record: it moves the band forward while staying true to what made it appealing and exciting in the first place.
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Jan 18, 2013It's this tightrope between bruised self-doubt and fun blasts of noise that gives Wolf's Law its emotional heft.
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Jan 17, 2013This is one for speakers, not headphones, a great dense whoosh of music that makes you feel like the bloke in the old Maxell tapes advert.
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Jan 17, 2013Its clarity, confidence, and cohesion set it apart from their debut which had room for improvement on those fronts.
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Alternative PressJan 9, 2013Thanks to such marked songwriting growth, Wolf's Law cements the Joy Formidable as a ferocious rock act and as a band with plenty to say. [Feb 2013, p.89]
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Jan 24, 2013The Joy Formidable might not have the most plausible ambitions for a 21st century rock band. But Wolf's Law offers enough thrills to suspend your disbelief.
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Feb 14, 2013You can’t help but admire their ambition, but their tendency to overreach is inhibiting them from becoming the band they want and deserve to be.
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Feb 7, 2013Ritzy Bryan’s choruses are as sturdy as they need to be and the songs are an improvement upon those on The Big Roar because they’re lither and punchier, packing more hairpin turns into shorter run times.
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Jan 24, 2013Despite rarely achieving all of what it goes for, it's hard to deny the sheer pleasure of getting the enormous hooks and noise that are constantly on display here.
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Jan 23, 2013The songs that collapse under their own weight find the band struggling to feel epic, but Wolf's Law still soars when the band struggles instead with epic feelings.
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Jan 22, 2013Unlike their debut-which could sometimes have moments equivalent to loud machine-gun fire, occasionally hitting its intended target but blurring together and exhausting itself--the tracks on Wolf's Law are like laser-guided rocket blasts, tighter and more effective.
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Jan 22, 2013The Joy Formidable proves on Wolf's Law that it can create grandeur and awe by letting contrast and touch speak volumes more than overpowering brute force can.
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Jan 22, 2013At 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.
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UncutJan 9, 2013The Joy Formidable continue to keep British rock sexily sturdy. [Feb 2013, p.74]
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Jan 9, 2013The studio remains the band's fourth member and their wind-tunnel intensity is a constant. The compositions are more focused this time round, however, while quiet-loud dynamic shifts are more arresting.
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Oct 4, 2013Wolf's Law swings as hard as The Big Roar, the difference being the aim. Regardless, it's a blast to blow out your speakers with.
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Feb 11, 2013While Wolf’s Law has a few lulls, such as the syrupy, “The Turnaround,” and some of the prog moments like “The Leopard and the Lung,” run too long, the best moments shine.
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Feb 1, 2013It’s a confused collection of songs, but there are enough gems here to suggest that they’ll come good soon enough.
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Jan 31, 2013Subtlety isn't the band's forte, but they sure know how to make an ostensibly stripped-down rock song enormous.
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Jan 23, 2013All but a few tracks could be touted as a single, though in the same breath, it is hard to pick a standout from them, their defining moments tied to a choice on their pedal board.
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Jan 22, 2013Yes, face The Joy Formidable's something and it's better than most. Just don't dig too deep for what that something is.
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Jan 22, 2013The prime intention of Wolf's Law is to overwhelm with bluster, muscle and noise, to orchestrate us clean out of our boots.
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Jan 22, 2013The best tricks and riffs from The Big Roar are culled and sewn back together to lukewarm effect, but the lack of innovation and variation is disappointing.
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Jan 17, 2013Sounding big may be a pretty good way to get a support slot with the biggest bands in the country and, in time, the world, but after a point you need more to say.
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Jan 9, 2013The album begins very much where The Big Roar left off, thundering its way through five noisy screeds without much variety in pace or power, However, halfway through Wolf's Law, The Joy Formidable veer off its beaten path. [Jan-Feb 2013, p.87]
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Q MagazineJan 24, 2013All too often the joy is forgettable. [Feb 2013, p.106]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 20 out of 22
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Mixed: 2 out of 22
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Negative: 0 out of 22
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Mar 19, 2013
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Jan 29, 2013
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Jan 27, 2013