Trwbador -‘Several Wolves.’ (Owlet Music)
Having released their rather fine self-titled debut last year, Angharad Van Rijswijk and Owain Gwilym have followed up with their sophomore album. And like that album, this is a veritable treat for the ears.
There’s a wonderful mix of pastoralism and bedroom beats going on here and this is a record that unveils itself to the listener with each successive listen (note: the tiny built-in speakers of a computer really will not do Several Wolves justice).
It is like wondering into another beautiful world – a feeling that is given extra enhancement by the track ‘CO2.’ This feels almost nightmarish in comparison to the rest of the record, as if to remind us all that if we are not careful about protecting what is special, we can lose it.
Last year’s album featured collaborations with Cornershop, amongst others; this time around they have worked with rapper ESSA on ‘Breakthorugh’ and former Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci man Richard James on ‘Blue Minds.’
In lesser hands the very different threads of this album could have made an interesting rather than pleasurable listen. In the hands of this Welsh attic duo, it’s another treat.
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Several Wolves is out now on Owlet Music.