Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Candylion, by Gruff Rhys



I've been listening to Gruff Rhys' new album, Candylion, for a few days now. So how is it? Not bad at all. The songs are original, and Rhys' voice is as smooth as ever. The lyrics range from deep and meaningful (Skylor) to light and fluffy (Candylion), but each track generally hits its mark, with only a few missteps, like Cycle of Violence, which far too similar to the track that precedes it. Although Rhys only whips out his story-telling skills a few times, each story is entertaining. In particular, the 14-minute long Skylor! tells a great story, while still maintaining it's musical oomph.

However, the album as a whole suffers from one major flaw; while the tracks are (mostly) all different from one another, each still feels like it could put you to sleep. I'm okay with a few tracks like that, as long as there's something to wake me, here there isn't. Even Skylor!, which focuses around a bomb on a plane, is pretty mellow. Overall, this is a pretty decent album, that suffers from a general lack of excitement.


B-





Tracks To Download:


Candylion

Lonesome Words

Beacon In The Darkness

Skylon!





Candylion.mp3

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