Well – “a concept album about Aberystwyth”, at least the press release said with some humour “come back guys, was it something we said?…”
I must admit that after a very unimpressed first listening, there is something about this one – collaboration with the “freesound” project means lots of odd incidental noises weaving around a basically acoustic folk sound (think Robert Wyatt though not quite as in tune, hmm) laced with some free guitar effects reminiscent of “Gone to Earth” era Davey Sylvian, the Fripp-esque guitar cutting in feedback chops in slow motion. Singing about “kids paddling in the waves” or something, it’s not exactly Super Furry Animals and I am not in general decrying the output of Wales as a musical nation but it does sound very, um, local.
In fact the whole album is somewhat slow-paced and perhaps this is the problem, I don’t ultimately have time to listen to such a slow record unless it is really captivating. This has its moments and the overall concept (album) is out of its time and therefore must be applauded – but I’m not sure exactly who will buy it and how it will pick up radio play, internet buzz or any of the other things likely to set the heather on fire.
