Wolf's Law Canvasback Records/ Atlantic***

If one of your band members is called Rhydian Dafydd, it's odds-on there's a connection with Wales. And so it proves with The Joy Formidable, a band from Mold (you couldn't make it up); they've been around for more than five years, and have now arrived at the point with Wolf's Law – their second album – where mainstream success is so close they can smell it. Simply put, the songs crackle with energy and nerve. From the opening track, This Ladder is Ours, to the final titular tune (via the rather nifty acoustic song, Silent Treatment), the album thrums with a vigorous metal/pop sound that never veers too much in one direction. The result is smooth, sleek but intense, with strong notions of its own identity and purpose. thejoyformidable.com

Download:This Ladder Is Ours, Silent Treatment, The Turnaround