Break out the welshcakes,* it's St Davids Day! St David is the patron Saint of Wales, but rather than get plastered on erm... sheepdip, we Welsh celebrate by aquiring daffodils to wear patriotically, whilst we moan about the rugby team. In a similar vein, little girls have to dress up in itchy woollen blankets and those funky hats; boys must smell of leeks.
* Like a sort of flat scone, but with sugar on top and much nicer.
It's also a day when various Welsh people in their (gulp) late twenties all collectively muse "didn't we used to get a half-day off for this? Y'know when we were about 6, what happened to that?" The answer no doubt lies with the bloody Thatcher: shutting out mines, stealing our milk, personally kicking our Nans in the face, mutter, mutter, where's our half -day?
Thankfully the embarrassing "Cool Cymru" tag has also been consigned to the dark days of the past, allowing Welsh music lovers to quietly disown the Stereophonics and appreciate new bands without a cup of nationalism on the side. So who's worth a listen?
Cate Le Bon, that's who.
She's folky and melancholic, often described as haunting; so translate that as a shawl wearing fey woman, possibly prone to introspection whilst standing in the rain. In keeping with the internecine spirit of Welsh music, she had her big break after charming Gruff of Super Furries fame.
Cate's songs sound very traditional and homely; there's no overt quirkiness or trilling lyrics that quickly fall to the floor and flower, nor is there a grand sweeping scale rich with wild themes. The music is simple, stripped down, slow, and sad. Oh my are those songs sad - even on the one that sounds quite happy. They're also pretty, deceivingly so in their simplicity, as they linger for a long time.
Her first album is a solid starting point, though admittedly one that twirls immaturity on its fingers as if it's hair about to be chewed. Nonetheless, you certainly get the impression that there is more to come - it's experience rather than ability that's lacking.
Judge for yourself though: here she is at Glastonbury 2007;
And here's something to take home and enjoy. In a gloomy way.
