Welsh trio The Joy Formidable are a throwback to the mid 90's Post Grunge of bands like Feeder, Bush and Live - their sound has that slick, metallic sheen that used to send A & R men into paroxysms of delight in their quest to discover the next Nirvana.

Their 2011 debut The Big Roar was an impressive opening gambit - here was a band doing it the old fashioned way, building up a following on the strength of a live show that was high on energy and excitement and a cheery bonhomie between band and audience. The Big Roar sounded fresh and exhilarating, and there was a glimmer of hope that The Joy Formidable might just be the ones to give British Rock music a good shaking.

On this their much anticipated follow up, that hope is all but extinguished - this has all the hallmarks of Careerist Rock at its very best, making the leap from sweaty club band to anthemic arena big hitters surprisingly smoothly. The record company obviously see the massive potential in their heavily stylised rock - production values have gone up a notch on Wolf's Law with the obligatory string section bolted on to some of these tracks, an acoustic ballad to showcase singer Ritzy Bryan’s more sensitive side and an epic nine minute closing track.

Fans of their debut album will find much to drool over on tracks like 'This Ladder is Ours'and 'Cholla'- balls out Rock that takes no prisoners with an impressively huge guitar sound and strong hooks and melodies. But whereas The Big Roar was a sharply focused album that did one thing very, very well, Wolf's Law is more expansive and ambitious and at times The Joy Formidable seem to bite off more than they can chew. The Prog Rock leanings of 'The Maw Maw Song' strikes something of a bum note while closing track 'The Turnaround' is essentially two songs; the first part is a lovely, string drenched melodic pop song that seems completely at odds with the rest of the album while part two is a piano ballad of the lighters in the air, stadium rock variety. Think Coldplay at their most anthemic and you have got the picture.

It was probably too much to hope that the Joy Formidable might have been the ones to breathe fresh life into a stagnant British rock scene, but in following the well worn path to stadium rock sterility, it is hard to escape the conclusion that Wolf's Law is a missed opportunity.

Review by Paul Page