Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Change is in the air, it is how we deal with it that separates us from the rest of humanity. Not always a good thing, change happens regardless, it is the slow tune played out by time to keep us on our toes, it is the steady march which beats out against the rust and decay and whilst it might not be considered a good thing, it is inevitable.
Change though for Welsh Celtic band Allan Yn Y Fan obviously works and in their latest album NEWiD, the sound of the fiddle is refined and the experience of the production a joy to behold; change may be a word that put fear into the hearts of some but for this Welsh six-piece, change is the next stage of evolution and the sound is harmonious bliss.
NEWiD spells out a dynamic shift that previously had been under closely guarded Irish and Scottish hands. When people think of Welsh music in the 21st Century, unless they have the wherewithal to go searching in the most hidden tunnels for a new sound, they perhaps quite rightly think back to the bands that closed the old century, the likes of The Alarm, Stereophonics and The Manic Street Preachers; the aggression, the extreme bounty that comes with such bands always pushing the heart along in the right direction.
Allan Yn Y Fan though add a certain discretion to the popular culture, once the preserve of the other Celtic voices, and whilst some may say it plays into the hands of national ideals, rather it should be seen as just conformation that to be immersed in your roots is to understand where you came from.
In tracks such Sbaen Wenddydd, O’ Connell’s Extension/Cooper’s Bow, Tune For Lillian and Bishop of Llandaff’s and Frank Hennessy’s Kairdiff Quickstep, Allan Yn Y Fan showcase the very best of Welsh/Celtic traditional music and the art of the brand new song over 12 exhilarating pulses of the fiddles bow coupled with the theatrics and exuberance of the other instruments on show.
Played with dexterous agility and sublime mastery of their instrument’s subtle voice, Allan Yn Y Fan roar in a new regime and it is one that embraces change.
Ian D. Hall