The Welsh trio The Joy Formidable throw all subtlety aside on their second album “Wolf’s Law” and takes the pop sensibilities from their debut to a whole new level by adding enough bombast to make Muse sound modest and sparse.

Some people might find this impressive, I just hear weak songs behind all the orchestral touches that wouldn’t be left standing in an acoustic version. Vocalist Ritzy Bryan hardly stands out with her voice in the onslaught of bass lines, guitar riffs and everything else you can think of that gets rammed into the song as well. And when they do go for a mellow acoustic track like in “Silent Treatment”, I hear something that comes with little to none lasting value. Dream pop is supposed to be dreamy and subtle… it’s right there in the name. Don’t blow it up to a beast of otherwordly proportions.