Various Artists

Let loose beardy muso types such as the Super Furries’ Gruff Rhys and label-runners Andy Votel and Dom Thomas into the vinyl archives – and you’d expect a load of dry, laboured music best appreciated rather than actually enjoyed. Well, forget that – the second ‘Welsh Rare Beat’ compilation is stuffed with more daisy-charming mystic pop melody than vinyl groove-clogging dust. Meic Stevens’ (according to some he’s the Welsh Bob Dylan) ‘Shw’ Mae? Shw’ Mae?’ is an acoustic folk-strum so sublime Gorky’s adopted it as their own during early tours and AD 73’s brass-bound indie patter predates The Beta Band’s ‘The Three EPs’ by a generation but sounds just as trumpet-polishingly beautiful. Less a boring trudge through
the charity shops of Wales than a glorious panning of gleaming Welsh pop gold.

Jamie Fullerton

7 out of 10