'In the night club of my mind. I'm doing cocaine in the cloakroom.'
Sometimes you need to listen to a record a few times and listen to it properly before writing a review. Gruff Rhys latest, Sadness Sets Me Free is an example of this fundamental requirement Pop Pickers!.
Normally I might have given it a single listen. Not been entirely blown away, written a cursory 'It's OK' review and been done with that. But I had a nagging feeling that told me, 'Wait it's better than that.' So I'm only putting pen to paper so to speak a few spins down the road this time round.
Rhys is a doughty performer and has been ever since his first appearnce as man at the mic for Super Furry Animals in the mid Nineties. If he were a cricketer, (and why shouldn't he be), he'd be a reliable middle order batsman in the Peter Willey mould who would come in and flash with considerable flair outside the off stump consistently, score 30 or 40 tuns in quick time and generally wake up the bored and witless middle aged types nodding off in the pavillion. Someone to put trust in. Batting for Glamorgan, the Welsh cricket playing county naturally.
He's never put out a bad record or not one that I've heard. Neither for Super Furries or as a solo artist. But he's so consistent he's also easy to take for granted. Like the middle order batsman who never lets you down. Reliability can be a curse
This review is a half hearted effort of mine to correct tis sorry state of affairs. I think Sadness Sets Me is quite excellent in its characteristic, self effacing way. It is rather sad I must say at points. But this is persona based leftfield slightly arty respect in the grand British tradition and Rhys is one of the best practititioners of this neglected and slightly threatened artform that we have.
So I direct you here if you've ever enjoyed a Scott Walker, Serge Gainsbourg, Tindersticks or Jarvis Cocker record. That's where its heart and soul are. It's a keeper and I'll be listening to it on a regular basis over the coming months,
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