seren - music

After Catatonia... y Ffyrc

noreply@blogspirit.com (Lewis JONES) — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 17:07:56 +0000

First came Y Cyrff, then Catatonia and now the moving spirits behind Y Cyrff have re-emerged as Y Ffyrc with a cracking new album called "Oes".
But before getting to the new stuff, some background... Y Cyrff (The Bodies) were the best Welsh-language band I ever heard. A Welsh Clash full of attitude but also lyrics of subtle poetry. They could write catchy riffs in their sleep and they were great live as well as on vinyl (yep, we're talking 80s here). Singer-guitarist Marc Roberts could do anger and ankst better than anybody and bassist Paul Jones was a constant sidekick in all the above-mentioned musical projects.
Both were working-class lads from Llanrwst who lived the "four musicians in a Transit" lifestyle for little reward for a decade. There were European tours alongside Anhrefn but there were also crappy gigs in the middle of nowhere where promoters offered them £27 (I know, I was one of them). I also remember a memorable gig with Y Cyrff, Anhrefn, Attila the Stockbroker and the Newtown Neurotics - all for a quid in Rhosddu Community Centre. We got the last two bands cheap cos they were playing in Bangor Univ
Y Cyrff mutated into Catatonia - with Cerys providing Marc with a chance to retreat to the shadows and concentrate on the music and songwriting alongside Paul. Catatonia went huge with their second album - deservedly so. Amid the headlines about Cerys's latest antics were some catchy tunes and even more catchy riffs. The lyrics became more poetic but retained that edge. "Storm the Palace" is not a typical Catatonia track but it was a typical Cyrff song. Anyone who can recommend turning Buckingham Palace into a Spar gets my vote...
When Catatonia finally went catatonic, Marc and Paul messed around with the Sherbet Antlers project before coming back to what they've always done best. Paul has also designed a stunning cover to the CD based on some old Soviet era artwork - the covers of the Cyrff albums were always worth getting for their original artwork too.
Good to have you back, lads.
Of course the worry is that, after all that hype, the new CD is crap. No need to worry - Y Ffyrc (The Forks) have anagrammed the original name but it's full of the same immediately catchy riffs and changes of tempo. There's a
world-weary cynicism to add to some of the old anger: "Pwy bleidleisiodd dros yr holl ffyliaid?" (Who voted for all the idiots?) asks Marc in "Heb Eithriad" (Without Exception).
The Catatonia years haven't mellowed them, just matured the bitterness nicely and the sense of loss, betrayal and missed opportunities is never far away. Forget the teenage ankst, this is middle-aged ankst and is all the darker for it.
"Godinebwraig" (Adultress) is angry accusation with references to a dark car park in Brecon, while "Byth" (Never) is a song to lost love. "Mae 'na le" (There's a place) hits the spot immediately - with uplifting chorus that hints that "the place" he's seeking is more of a feeling than anywhere in particular.
It's no surprise that these anti-stars have a pop at the superficial world of the fashion industry in "Gwisgo Fyny" (Dressing up) but it's muted, as is the downbeat musing on getting old - "Mae pob dim rwy'n eu garu yn mynd i ladd fi, mae pawb dwi'n cusannu yn diflannu" (Everything I love is going to kill me, everyone I kiss disappears).
More ankst follows with the pregnant girlfriend's betrayal in "Beichiog" (Pregnant) - we're straying into very dark territory here: "Babis heddiw yn hwligans fory" (Today's babies, tomorrow's hooligans).
"Nia be wna'i?" (Nia, what shall I do?) offers a short acoustic break but then we're back to more loss and darkness. Politicians are put on the spot for "closing your eyes, putting their faith in fortune" rather than dealing with the problems the world faces in "Heb Eithriad".
"Bylchau" (Gaps) is the smalltown boy's escape from Llanrwst to the bright lights of Cardiff but never quite getting there it seems - "mae pendraw'r enfys yn symud tra dwi'n symud" (the end of the rainbow moves as I move). The rock star lifestyle didn't make much impact on Y Ffyrc - except to confirm as the closing track "Corridor" does that "mae'n haws bod yn unig mewn cwmni" (it's easier to be lonely in company)

• Anyone wanting to catch up with Y Cyrff can get hold of a Mae Ddoe yn Ddoe, a "greatest hits" compilation CD that covers from their earliest singles to the haunting and mature "Hwyl Fawr Heulwen".

Cyril Snear - Wiping his feet on the doormat of England (CD review)

noreply@blogspirit.com (Lewis JONES) — Tue, 22 Nov 2005 12:50:00 +0000

The biggest compliment you can pay Cyril Snear, the Flintshire-based three-piece, is that they don't sound like any other band I've heard.

Mike McKnight on guitar and vocals, Ste Layfield on bass and Nick Roe on drums have produced a DIY CD challengingly called "Wiping his feet on the doormat of England". It's got a hatful of moody melodies and taut rhythms, that delights in unusual song titles such as "I've filled the sea full of irony... fancy a swim?"

The moods swing from "Onions - without the tears" and its uptempo rock once it cuts loose to the more acoustic "Sleaze Nation", a blistering attack addressed to George Bush. It's one of many songs raging against the system.

"The Tilt Towards" reveals a real confidence on the part of the guitarist and drummer, an ambitious off-beat that revels in unpredictability.

You know it's a DIY CD when someone coughs on the intro to "Blackcurrant, Ginseng and Vanilla" but overall there's a professionality about the whole sound. The surrealist "Just Visiting" combines an intriguing Middle Eastern-tinged riff with a strange spoken passage about a drug dealer with no nose.

"My saliva is the only thing holding me together right now" ranks as one of the best song titles I've heard in a long time, but as a song it never really takes off. Far better is "Your subtle lust", which builds to a great crescendo of guitar riffs.

Mike McKnight's vocals display a confidence and maturity beyond his years and an excellent rhythm section keeps the odd awkward change of direction together.

Recorded, produced, engineered and mixed in a bedroom, somebody needs to turns this energetic trio loose in a recording studio - they'd be stunning.

* For a free copy of the CD contact mikethetrickster@yahoo.co.uk

Gilespi - adolygiad o'r CD newydd

noreply@blogspirit.com (Lewis JONES) — Mon, 19 Sep 2005 12:12:37 +0100

Efallai mae'r peth gorau i wneud wrth wrando ar Gilespi yw anghofio am drio'u rhoi mewn bocs cerddorol arbennig.
Mae'n dipyn o gamp plethu offerynnau fel fiola, cello, ffliwt a chlarinet efo sacs, piano, gitar fâs a drymiau i greu swn unigryw sydd hefyd efo tinc o jazz, y felan a gwerin yn perthyn iddo.
Ond dyna yw nod Gilespi, band wyth-person o Aberystwyth sydd newydd gyhoeddi eu CD cyntaf Methu Chware Gitar.
O'r cychwyn cynta, mae'n amlwg nad criw o fyfyrwyr llawn ankst sydd yma - mae Bedford Street yn llwyddo i godi hwyl ac yn gosod tempo bywiog i'r holl albwm. Mae hwn yn cynnig swn newydd amrwd a ffwrdd a hi - “canu gwerin” yn ei ystyr fwyaf eang i'r ganrif newydd, yn llawn hwyl a bwrlwm.
Mae na newid tempo cyson drwy'r CD efo cân offerynnol hyfryd Bidscocen (gyda'i ddechreuad atmosfferig efo'r cello a fiola ar eu gorau) a Grwndi, lle mae'r offerynnau clasurol yn cael rhwydd hynt.
Mae Gilespi ag ochr wleidyddol ond caneuon personol am gariad, colled a pherthnasau sydd yma fwyaf. Mae Mr Gwbo Pob Dim yn put-down bendigedig a la "You're so vain" a llais Melissa Henry'n berffaith. Mae hi hefyd i'w chlywed ar ei gorau ar Dydd, gyda'i gytgan bwerus a gafaelgar - uchafbwynt y CD.
O'u gwefan (www.gilespi.co.uk) mae'n amlwg fod y CD wedi ei recordio ar ras ac mae'r llais, fliwt a sacs weithiau ar goll braidd yn y mics.
Mae'r gân olaf Viva yn dioddef o'i herwydd gyda rhythm section or-bwerus ac mae'r cytgan "viva la revolucion galesa" yn dipyn llai hyderus ei ystyr na neges wreiddiol Steve Eaves dros ddegawd yn ôl. Adlewyrchiad ar y newid amser efallai...
Ond dyma fand efo swn unigryw sy'n hyderus ac yn andros o dynn yn gerddorol o ystyried fod y mwyafrif yn eu hugeiniau cynnar a'r drymar mond yn 18 oed. Os am brofi cerddoriaeth sy’n gwthio ffiniau ac yn gwrthod cael ei osod mewn unrhyw gategori cul, dyma fand i agor eich clustiau ac ymestyn eich gorwelion.
• Gilespi offer an original combination of classical instruments, rock rhythm section as well as sax and piano.
Blend in a bit of jazz, blues and touch of folk and you have an eclectic sound that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
For a young band they know what they’re doing, even if some of the subtleties get lost in the mix at times. They can change pace and tempo at will and have a strong vocalist in Melissa Henry and a real maturity for a band in their early 20s.
• Gilespi - Methu Chware Gitar
(Dockrad CD016)