Album Review: Gruff Rhys - 'Dim Probs'
Gruff Rhys returns with an ever-thoughtful look at the modern world, all in Welsh.
Dim Probs releases on 12th September, another great album added to the Welsh hero’s bountiful repertoire. It’s his first effort in Welsh/Cymraeg, his native language, since Pang! released 6 years ago. Minority language music has seen a glorious rise in recent years, and Gruff Rhys has certainly been a spearhead for this. He’s been a beacon of Welsh pride and identity throughout his career.
The album reflects this in a way, it feels warm and personal led by Rhys’ comforting vocals. Whilst at the same grappling with large scale concepts through a more melancholic lens. Whilst the lyrical specifics may be lost on a majority of listeners, its musicality and melody, as well as Rhys’ earnest and expressive voice, guide us on a journey of contained chaos. He is able to masterfully toe this line, introducing and leading us through a dissection of these tough subjects, as if he was an old friend sharing a drink and a soothing word with us on a front porch as the sun sets.
On the album’s themes, he says - ‘Given the times we are living through, the title Dim Probs is a dark joke, especially as the lyrics, hopefully in a playful way deal variously in death, weeds, war and pestilence. You get the picture.’
‘Pan Ddaw'r Haul I Fore’ is a gentle and tender album opener, that aptly describes a sunrise. It’s the kind of song that you would imagine playing in a cozy stone cottage or along a lush forest walk. It’s sweet with soft and light guitars and a beat that plods along, almost Beatlesesque.
‘Taro #1 + 2’ is a groovy, swirling tune lit up by its relentless rhythm and horns, but undercut by its somber albeit content look on the end of it all. It describes how death comes for everyone, and how we must accept it when it does. Its toe-tapping melody would most often be paired with easy to listen lyrics, but Rhys’ maturity allows him to subvert expectations and grab the listener by their hand and lead them to dancefloor, soundtracked by his bleak poetry. It’s a song about death that feels so distinctly alive.
‘Dos Amdani’ is dreamlike, whilst lead single ‘Chwyn Chwyldroadol!’ is bouncy and fun, brimming with melody and overflowing with bright and thoughtful sentiments, seen in an important line in its chorus translating as ‘weeds for some, gold for others’.
The second half of the album is more pensive and wistful, radiating a darker tone. It's a great journey from the seemingly hopeful opener as Rhys opens up on dark times. The closer ‘Acw’ utilises the same close guitar picking as the first track, but feels totally different, like something sinister is looming from a distance. There’s a blend of bright, jazzy horns and a desolate sound that makes a spaghetti western out of the sprawling Welsh hills.
The album is authentic, Rhys’ thoughtfulness overrides the cleverness of his songwriting and the intricacies introduced with horns, double basses and synths. These distinct soundscapes seem to build up around him with a spin of the record feeling like you’re sat beside Gruff and his guitar in the studio as he captures a song he just wrote, he says - ‘The album was recorded swiftly in Bristol at Ali Chant’s studio. I worked the songs out in advance then I’d drive or catch a train over the border and capture them fast. My hope was to retain the energy of the first take and not make something overwrought with arrangement.’
Dim Probs is a joyful but calm listen, whether you can pick apart his native lyrics or not. It has the feeling of yet another homecoming record for a beloved national treasure.
Words by Luca Jarman
