I have been trying to get my hands on Adwaith for a few months now. No, not because they've been scrumping from the orangery or doing anything mischievous; I just wanted to hear them and play them on our radio show. Finally, after a little persistence, a copy of their album 'Melyn' (for the ignorant, like me, that's Welsh for "Yellow") landed with me and...(faux dramatic pause)...it was well worth the wait.
The first thing that struck me was the variety in sound and texture, it was much, much more engaging and experimental than I had expected. The second dawning was that, not being very literate in Welsh (I only know 'bore da' and 'traed bach'), I had no idea what Adwaith were singing about, even the track titles were a complete mystery. But that was the beauty, the Welsh language is poetic and that gives the vocals a wonderful, natural flow.
I was expecting a collection guitar-led tracks, but Adwaith don't do indie-by-numbers, there's sophistication, beauty and rawness in equal measures. The musical styles vary pleasingly, along with the instrumentation, but it rocks when it rocks. It is like riding along with strangers on a slightly rickety, foreign bus; you're not quite sure where you are going or what people are saying, but the scenery is amazing and there's a buzz of excitement in the air.
When talking about Adwaith on our latest radio show, I said something along the lines of "If John Peel was still around, I'm sure he'd be playing this..." - that's the best endorsement anyone can make. Hats off to Libertino Records.
Top Tracks: Lipstic Coch, Newid, Y Diweddaraf.
Release date: Out nowLabel: Libertino Records