You might think that the sun never shines in Wales. I know it does because I have been there but maybe I was just lucky and perhaps a true son of Wales like Heddlu – aka Rhodri Daniel – knows the truth about the weather and “Tramor” would seem to evidence that.
Not that this album is depressing, as that is not the case, yet the world of today does seem to imprison Heddlu’s words and music even if the ghosts on haunting duty this time around were born a long time ago. For your money, you get an album of eleven songs that are very much internally focussed – not everything in this world can be a Girls Aloud reunion, after all – but still have a veneer of conventionality that will pique the interest the ears of the casual listener. It is also pleasing to note that complexity holds no fear for Heddlu and the mix of synthetic and organic sounds provides a most adequate soundtrack for the pondering of deeper emotional and philosophical matters whilst still allowing sufficient space for some, almost playful, diversions into the worlds of psychedelic guitar solos and soundtrack cue synthesisers.
An album like “Tramor” walks just outside the indie mainstream and, while navigating in musical circles is indeed fashionable, Heddlu has the courage to increase the diameter of his circles to a size that allows him to envelop some spiritual components into his music. This is an album full of clouds, therefore, but not one that contains the forecast for every one and every tomorrow.