Probably 6 months ago there was a bit of hype about Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys' superb new solo album Hotel Shampoo. Most of the chatter was about how his penchant for collecting complimentary shampoo bottles from the hotels he has inhabited over years of touring. I've seen the pictures of the little Welsh Fortress of Soltitude he had amassed. At least here in the states it has not made much of a ripple. I have to say it is a nice collection of cleverly arranged 70's keyboard based singer-songwriter pop tunes. The songs are quite strong, the arrangements are mostly quite inventive, clever, and not stock imitations of old songs. He definitely puts his own distinctive eccentric stamp on the genre.
Of course Super Furry Animals are apparently one of those bands that we don't entirely get, because they are extremely popular across the Atlantic and they have made consistently fine albums. Psychedelic Techno Pop? What' not to like? There is a documentary that is part of their Songbook/Singles DVD where they are touring the US playing tiny venues, while back in the UK and Europe they are headlining festivals and playing in stadiums. I still believe that they are going to bang out a classic timeless album that will rank with the big boys of the rock n roll narrative and will leave most of the listening public surprised and startled, and probably a little disturbed. I think they have that kind of talent and creativity, and you hear it in bits and pieces on all of their albums. Sometimes I blank out when I listen to them and forget that I'm not listening to The Beatles, or The Beach Boys. And of course, I appreciate the fact that they released an excellent all-Welsh language album, Mwng (who needs vowels?).
Which was the best selling Welsh language album in recorded history, by the way.
I already did a post on Rhys' collaboration with Boom Bip as Neon Neon, Stainless Style, which is without doubt my favorite electronic John DeLorean-themed concept album of the last decade. Definitely a very very cool album, which was nominated for a Mercury Prize. Hotel Shampoo is his latest solo project, released earlier this year. This album is a lot more elaborate than the prior ones. He wanted to create a simple piano album, but the songs would up being considerately more fleshed out. Rhys is a fine singer and the melodies are full to the brim with hooks. When I listen to the songs I can almost conjure up an alternate reality, where a team of producers with a gigantic budget took these songs and pumped them up to a gigantic size. To a point where they would be blasting out of the radio like Breakfast in America by Supertramp or Silly Love Songs by McCartney used to be when I was a teenager. You couldn't escape from them back then. Frankly, I prefer the songs on Hotel Shampoo just the way they are.
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| Orange Flakes of Purple Pop |
From the outset, with the moody pop of Shark Filled Waters, you get the impression that you are going to get a lot of enjoyment out of this album. Some artists listen to music in their formative years and at some point are disinterested in music. I would venture to say that Gruff Rhys is not one of those artists; he seems to be an avid listener who soaks up influences like a sponge. And his pop sensibilities amaze me--a simple song like Honey All Over sounds magnificent here with the lush arrangements and harmonies. One of the best songs here I think is Vitamin K, which sounds like it could be retooled outtake from Neon Neon's Stainless Style. Great strings, 70's sax riffs, bubbly keyboard ostinatos. An interesting juxtaposition is the double timed tom-toms beats at some points in the song.
Some of Gruff's tunes here are politically themed, most notably Patterns of Power:
Kids are dying and I'm drinking champagne.
The patterns of power.
A patchwork of pain.
I'm on fire and you're drinking champagne.
The patterns of power.
Again and again.
Conservation Conversation is another such tune:
And as the conservation conversation,
Gets replaced by condensation,
And hot air:
Solar flare:
Remote control.
Other fine numbers include Christopher Columbus, which is like a combination London Calling meets Flower Power Ska. Nice horn lines. I like his charming duet with El Perro Del Mar, Space Dust 2, ostensibly a show-tune. At the Heart of Love is Gruff's is excellent RnB balladry, while on I Totally Understand (bonus track) he's channelling Elliott Smith. The other short bonus track on my disc, Pengwyn Pengwyn reminds me of those Welsh freak folk sing-a-longs of Meic Stevens. And I would be remiss in not mentioning another standout track, the Latin-tinged pop bliss of Sensations In The Dark.
If you are a fan of the Super Furries, you probably have this already. Hotel Shampoo one of the better new releases I've heard this year, but as I have said, be advised that it is on the mellow side. Fans of well-crafted pop music should eat this up like Andrew Zimmern at an all-you-can-eat Haggis buffet though. Not one duff track on this album. Another project by Rhys that I am anxiously anticipating is his documentary film Separado! where he travels to Argentina to reconnect with the relatives who emigrated from Wales in the 19th century. It's supposed to be a cool movie, but so far not released on DVD in NTSC format. Gruff Rhys is definitely an interesting, engaging person. Who knows what he will be up to next?
