These came out in 2005 — or at least that’s when I got ’em. Here’s what I said about them back then (with some minor editing):
The seasoned traveller may recognize phrases like Ffa Coffi Pawb, Am Byth and Yr Atal Genhedlaeth not as random keyboard strikes but as Welsh.
The more cunning linguists may understand that Ffa Coffi Pawb’s English translation is profane (say the first half aloud). And the indie-popsters may be familiar with the mad Welshman behind it all: Gruff Rhys, the singer-guitarist of pop-rock quirksters Super Furry Animals. Ffr Coffi Pawb was his pre-SFA band (with drummer Dafydd Ieuan), and Am Byth (which supposedly means Forever) is a collection of “lost songs” from 1986 to ’92. Even then, Rhys’s ’60s pop fixation was obviously well-ingrained, judging by the plethora of jangly Byrdsian guitars, sunny Beach Boys-style harmonies and dark Velvet Undergroundly fuzz on display. All of them remain on display on Rhys’s new 11-cut solo disc Yr Atal Genhedlaeth (The Stuttering Generation, another vulgar pun that’s lost in translation). Unsurprisingly, they’re all linked by the same musical mischief and screwball sensibility behind SFA. Whichever one you choose, you get a batch of sharp, smart pop-rock that’s a treat to hear — even if you can’t understand a word of it.
