Gruffudd Maredudd Bowen Rhys is the Cool Cymru counterpart to Damon Albarn, never content with resting on his considerable past successes. Of course, it’s no surprise that Gruff popped up for a stellar turn on Johannesburg from Albarn’s Africa Express project this summer. Pang! is his latest release mostly sung in Welsh and hailed by the Guardian as “a chamber folk-rock minor masterpiece”. It’s global in its outlook through, produced by the South African electronica artist Muzi with some lyrics sung in Zulu. It’s unlikely to be a converter but for those who religiously congregate in the chapel of Rhys, the sermon is as ecstatically pleasing as always.
Whelan’s, Tuesday December 9, €25
Photo: Gruff Rhys Press
