Ritzy Bryan of The Joy Formidable

The Joy Formidable spent much of 2011 on the road, touring Europe and North America in support of their stellar debut full-length, The Big Roar. Their pretty and noisy sound earned critical acclaim and picked up a few new famous fans, including Dave Grohl. In fact, the Welsh band scored a stint opening for the Foo Fighters at the end of the year.

Now the Joy Formidable returns for a handful of festival dates, beginning with Sasquatch in Washington this weekend.  in advance of their gig, Pure Volume caught up with frontwoman Ritzy Bryan to answer a few burning questions.

You’re booked for so many festivals this year. What do you like about playing such large events?

We’re actually, by choice, having a quieter summer than usual. We’ve been finishing our second album and working on side projects. Large, small, makes no difference, it’s about the show and the audience and that’s happily unpredictable.

Does your time slot ever affect performance? Is there a difference between seeing The Joy Formidable in daylight or moonlight?

If it’s a full moon, Matt will need extra time between songs to comb his face.

What’s been your favorite festival gig so far? Why?

There’s a lot of goodies to choose from, but today I’ll happily reminisce about Lollapalooza 2011. A great crowd, a stunningly hot day and a very dramatic storm to close the night.

A couple of weeks ago, the band posted about finishing up the second album this summer. What can you say about the new album?

It’s finished. We recorded it in Portland, Maine and London (UK) and mixed it with the great Andy Wallace in Manhattan.

Will you be playing any new songs at Sasquatch?

We’ll decide on the day. Plans are great, planning is a waste of time.

The Big Roar is out now on Canvasback/Atlantic. Purchase it at eMusic.