Days Like Now

This is a super cool album from the Welsh producer and bassist Huw Marc Bennett. Having been widely praised for his last album Tresilian Bay (2020), this album follows with similar tropical psychedelia vibes, but with Days Like Now Bennett leans further into his Welsh heritage. There are still the oh-so-cool grooves of the previous album but the tracks have a more introspective feel and we get some reworkings of Welsh folk tunes.

Opening ‘Golau Hardd’ starts things off excellently with its summery lope. Arpeggiating strings sparkle and churn beneath the retro sythns. There's a retro feel to most of the album, even the illustrated artwork looks like something you might stumble on while crate digging for lost tropical treasures. ‘Pinc Sunset’, about appreciating the beauty of nature, features the voices of Angela Christofilou, Cleo Savva and Bennett, adding some variety to an otherwise instrumental album (bar a few subtle, wordless backing vocals). Elsewhere, the melodies of folk songs like ‘Ffarwel i Langyfelach Lon’, ‘Y Cariad Cyntaf’ and ‘Y Gwydd’ are carried by dreamy synths or guitars.

While most of the music is extremely laidback, closer ‘Red Valley’ packs some pep. Its title refers to the Welsh who left their homes to fight in the Spanish civil war against Franco and the rise of fascism. The continental element can be heard in the insistent foot stomps and vaguely flamenco guitar strumming.

This is Welsh music like you’ve never heard it before.