Search - Gruff Rhys :: Candylion

Better than love kraft

P. R Sundeen | omaha, ne | 04/01/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"gruff rhys ditches the theatrics and sticks to solid song writing and groovy production on his second solo outing.



after the throw-away intro, the title track provides a pretty clear picture of how the album is going to be. in a word, playful. the fairy-tale-like lyrics and childrens-song-like melodies lead into the equally as entertaing "the court of king arthur".



from here we go into the more serious, and very similar sounding, "lonesome words" and "cycle of violence". perhaps the two strongest tracks on the album, these tracks are very unique and compliment each other well.



the following two tracks are pretty standard gruff rhys, as are the next two, which are sung in welsh like his first solo album.



"now that the feeling is gone" i sthe most SFA sounding track, and is pretty solid as well.



after another welsh song, we reach the albums climax, the stunning 14:00 "skylon!". this story-song is captivating, and much like "the trapeze swinger" by iron & wine, it keeps you interested throughout with easy-going melodies and clever lyrics. the spoken word wrap-up to the story at the end is the icing on the cake to this wonderful record.



highly recomended for Super Furry Animals fans."