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Elly Roberts reviews
Rough Trade
- Released: August 2006
- Rating: 6/10
By the sound of things, Cerys Matthews has no intention of being pigeon-holed.
Since her departure from Welsh anthemic popsters Catatonia, the former ladettehas married with two kids, and taken serious control of her solo career.Its also rumoured shes moving back to live in Wales, from the USA.
2003s Cockahoop was a revelation and massive departure from her popsongs, as she flirted with country music. Never Said Goodbye is atotally different ball game. Gone are the southern swampy influences as shegoes off on a totally different tangent, with mixed results, principallybecause shes still learning her craft as a songwriter. One thing remains:this is very much a Cerys Matthews album unique, to the extent shespassionately Welsh, which brings the inclusion of another beauty, finalsong Elen, sung in her native tongue.
Her new incarnation is probably due to the watchful eye of husband SethRiddle. Now 37, Matthews singing remains as charmingly pubescent as ever- the innocence remains, though the lyrics are far more philosophical;occasionally naïve. The songs are a combination of big sounding blasts whichbegging as low key such as Oxygen and Open Roads.
Then theres her finest moments, like the hushed and intimate The EndlessRain, accompanied by gentle piano and strings, similarly with BlueLight Alarm with its choric blasts. Morning Sunshine is as closeas she comes to Catatonia, with a more in your face chorus. Its onlyserious low-point is the disastrous What Kind Of Man, while hervocals struggle to rise to the stirring composition.
Its a far cry from being an out-and-out pop album because of the lack ofhit single potential, but she comes close with the penultimate funky Ruby– a remixed version would do the trick.
Its not an instantly likeable collection, but admittedly, its a real grower.It peaked at No.43 in the official UK album charts, topped the Indiechart, now dropping to 7.
Weblinks:Rough Trade.com /Cerys Matthews.com
The full list of tracks included are :
1. Streets Of New York
2. A Bird In Hand
3. Oxygen
4. Open Roads
5. The Endless Rain
6. Blue Light Alarm
7. Morning Sunshine
8. Seed Song
9. What Kind Of Man
10. Ruby
11. Elen
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.