Elan

A confessed city boy, Gareth Bonello, aka The Gentle Good, wrote this album during a year-long residency in Wales’ Elan Valley. Where keeping the fire alight was the only source of heating in a remote cottage, the dramatically changing landscape served as a magical backdrop and inspiration for Elan. ‘Cofiwch Gwm Elan’ is a song to rival all protest songs written about Wales’ drowned valleys. Yet, it’s a quiet protest – he’s not called The Gentle Good for no reason. We learn about the school, church and 18 farms that were lost forever underwater. The strings, flowing guitar and rolling drums are a joy. On ‘Stunning Location’, he asks ‘How long can a river / Be held under water?’ With its piano, strings and harmonies, it’s reminiscent of Wales’ psychedelic pop stars, Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci and the Super Furry Animals. At times he emerges from the often dark sadness of the valley, venturing uphill to the marshy heights of the Elenydd mountain range. There’s joy, perhaps even celebration here; even as we learn of the languages and lifestyles that have fallen out of use, we are reminded that they are never totally gone through place names and the landscape. He sings of ‘Crugyn Ci’, the peak where he spent most of his days. ‘Drygarn’ refers to the highest peak in the Elenydd range, with its difficult terrain and lack of clear paths. Somehow, he perfectly blends in the Indian-influenced ‘Desert of Wales’, a collaboration with SAZ, a Rajasthan folk group, giving this album a wider range of sound than his usual pared-down approach.