So sad… I’m sure there are perfectly good reasons for Calan to wrap up their amazing journey, from supertalented youngsters to the undisputed masters and stars of modern Welsh folk. But I can’t but feel a bit forlorn here. I have loved their music, and now that they present us with their finest work, they quit. Goddamit…
But, as I said, there must be very good reasons for laying the band to rest, and if there ever was a grand farewell in Celtic folk – well, I’m not saying this is the only one, but this is one of the grandest ever.
Nefydd has gorgeus cover art, tunes so good it makes my eyes water, and playing so assured and robust, it feels as if these musicians have been at it since before they were born.
Maybe they were.
This is a commanding album, in the best sense of the word. Everything is in place and yet alive and moving, every nerve tingling. A rush of music’s blood.
Nefydd is a journey unto itself. The opening title track pulls you in with its irresistable, pulsating swing (though Nefydd was not a nice guy in the Welsh legends, I have learned). After that, you’re thrown to the progfolk maelstrom of Undegnawiaid and it’s unfathomable time signatures (the title means “Eleven” so that may be a clue) and from there, to the elegant yet danceable Nerth (“Strength”).
That’s just the beginning; there’s so much more here. I want also to highlight the beautiful and cinematic Ogof y Gwydd (“Cave of the Goose”) and the wonderfully groovy Rali Wali that features plenty of Welsh clogging to keep your feet tappin’ too.
Nefydd closes with Hiraeth, one of those words that has no exact counterpart in other languages. Wikipedia says it is “mixture of longing, yearning, nostalgia, wistfulness or an earnest desire for the Wales of the past” and so it’s a fitting piece to close the Calan story. But it’s not a lament, musically; it’s an almost defiantly vibrant tune that presents all the band members giving their best.
Not with a whimper but with a bang, in a blaze of glory. Calan!
[Nefydd is available on all major streaming platforms]
FolkNotes 