Alt-rock band The Joy Formidable have unveiled the fourth single from their upcoming fifth studio album, Into The Blue. The group’s new LP is set to be released on August 20, 2021 via Enci Records in North America, Full Time Hobby in Europe and Soundly Distro everywhere else. 

Written in North Wales and completed “in the middle of nowhere” Utah, the album is “about opening your eyes to beauty and love again. Making it to the other side,” according to the band.

Frontwoman Ritzy Bryan adds that “Whilst not conceived as a metaphor for the times we all live in now, it certainly turned out that way.”

Listen to “Interval” here:

Bryan’s airy vocals are met with bouncy percussion and energetic, catchy guitar riffs as she sings lyrics indicative of a transition like “Don’t think about it / It’s a crossroad,” and “If you feel lost under bright skies / See through me.”

The track’s lively instrumentation and ethereal vocals strike a similar balance to what’s been heard so far off of Into The Blue, capturing the anticipation and thrill of being at a “crossroad” and wanting to “[make] it to the other side.”

The Joy Formidable shared the album’s title track in March alongside an accompanying music video. They later released the single edit of the song with a lyric video shortly before announcing the new record and releasing its second single, titled “Back To Nothing.” In June, the group shared the third single from Into The Blue, “Chimes.”

Into The Blue will follow up the group’s 2018 album AAARTH, which houses acclaimed singles like “Dance Of The Lotus” and “The Wrong Side.”

In November of 2019, the group released the 10th-anniversary edition of their debut EP, A Balloon Called Moaning, which was originally exclusively released in Japan in December of 2008. The special 2018 double-album included all songs from the EP, along with newly-recorded acoustic versions of each track in Welsh. 

The Joy Formidable have previously performed at SXSW, Savannah Stopover, Pasadena Daydream and more. The band also supported Foo Fighters at select dates on their 2018 North American tour.

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat