Search - Cerys Matthews :: Cockahoop

Sweet Surrender

Lee Armstrong | Winterville, NC United States | 04/25/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Known as the lead singer for Catatonia's 5 albums, Cerys Matthews' first solo set is a departure from that band's sound. She opens up with "Chardonnay" written by Roger Cook who wrote the classic hits "You've Got Your Troubles" for the Fortunes, "Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress) for the Hollies and "Green Grass" for Gary Lewis & the Playboys. In Matthews' hands "Chardonnay" is a delightful track complete with bassoon, oboe, cello & bazouki. [I confess I don't actually know what a "bazouki" is, but there is a great variety of sounds within the track.] On her own "Only A Fool," Matthews fashions a lovely melody filled with longing, "So I creep by your side, no great surprise, all for your sweet surrender; The morning stands still, won't let me in." On the brief "La Bague," Cerys' voice sounds quite a bit like the classic rock singer Melanie with its lusty alto, full of life. I understand that Matthews wrote the songs for this set without running water, a kitchen or a bathroom. The songs certainly have an elemental feel as on the lovely "Ocean" & "The Good In Goodbye." This is a great set with a homey country feel. Enjoy!"

Beauty

J. P. Cook | New Zealand | 03/20/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Listening to this album over and over again, is like dancing till I'm tired, and drinking till I'm full.

It's beautiful, pure beauty.

"

Not bad...

J. Holmes | yokohama, japan | 11/19/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Cery's Matthews possesses a truly unique voice that combines a velvet croak with a whiskey-ravaged rasp. that may sound like an insult...but it's not, i actually like her voice and it lends itself to these songs quite nicely. acoustic driven and heavy on the cowgirl accents, Cockahoop contains some nice little songs. but overall, i feel like it's missing something. maybe squaring Matthews's voice into the country rock sound is just a little too derived...in other words, it works sometimes, and sometimes it does not. but it is a nice little record. shame about the absolutely horrendous cover art. ouch."