ADWAITH - “SOLAS” : ALBUM REVIEW
I mentioned in an earlier post how I had recently become a fan of Welsh post-punk rock trio Adwaith - a monumental moment for me in that I haven’t been this excited about a current band for years, if not decades.
Adwaith’s previous two albums contained not only a large number of catchy hooks and spaced-out experimental rock, but also a sincerity that I have found lacking in many modern ensembles. The fact that they sing in Welsh is a big part of this. They are pure artists, wanting to be true to themsleves rather than caving to commerciality.
At the beginning of February they released their third album ‘Solas,’ and once again throwing caution to the wind, opted to go for a 23-track double album. Who does that in this day and age?
As Ringo Starr once commented about double albums, “that’s a lot of information.” It’s a well-known fact that most such releases tend towards being padded with filler (I’m looking at you, White Album…).
Not so with ‘Solas.’ To my delight, after a few listens I can honestly say that the album is superb.
At least fourteen of the songs I find to be absolutely top-notch and the rest are ‘merely’ very good. It’s filler-free and stuffed full of infectious melodies, spine-tingling moments of beauty and some charmingly oddball experimentation.
It would be hard to categorise what type of music this actually is - live, they are guitar/bass/drums indie rock, but in the studio the heavy processing gives a spacey feel in which guitars no longer sound exactly like guitars, with heavy distortion and compression moulding the music into a silky, dreamy and sometimes exotic soup.
The style of the songs is varied too, although always with gorgeous harmonised melodies : some are dark synth pop, some folky, and a couple even have a Welsh rap section. No matter the style, the sound is unmistakeably Adwaith, with the timbre of the Welsh language adding a magic source to the proceedings throughout.
Typical of Adwaith’s songwriting style, despite sometimes sounding as poppy as ABBA (listen to the amazing track ‘Paid Aros’), they never stay close to cliches such as a ‘middle eight’, ‘drop’ or even ending on the ‘correct’ note….most songs just stop, sometimes in an abrupt or slightly messy way, but this is all part of the charm.
The album was preceded by two singles which give you a taste of its style. ‘MWY’ is an astonishing groovy workout on what is basically one note, with chants and a slightly ‘eastern’ feel. ‘Miliwn,’ on the other hand, is a bubbly infectious pop number, brimming over with positive vibes.
My favourite tracks on the album, however, are the aforementioned ‘Paid Aros’ which is melancholy-tinged beauty personified. Elsewhere I gravitate towards the experimental side, like ‘Pelydr-X with its sassy rap section and the hilariously cheeky-sounding ‘Coeden Anniben’ with its driving pace, distorted bass and squeaky vocals. Perhaps the best for me, though, is ‘Heddiw / Ifory,’ twangy guitars giving way to an almost synth-pop feel with a glorious series of vocal melodies and harmonies - magnificent and uplifting with a hint of sadness - this one song has more hooks than many artists have on an entire album!
‘Solas’ really does sound like a band reaching their peak and I’m really glad I discovered them at this moment.
10/10.