Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog

Music

FEATURED SONG

Play
Play Next
Add to queue

Fall On My Knees

Album:

Released: Dec 7, 2011

Label:

1. Play
2. Play Next
3. Add to queue
Fall On My Knees
4:47
358 plays
1. Play
2. Play Next
3. Add to queue
Celwydd Golau Ydi Cariad
3:30
1,290 plays
1. Play
2. Play Next
3. Add to queue
Y Ffenast
2:46
589 plays
1. Play
2. Play Next
3. Add to queue
Gan Fy Mod i
6:52
781 plays

Total Plays: 33,935 / Plays Today: 5See All Featured ►

General Info

Genre: Americana / Country / Folk
Location Rhos Botwnnog, Wales, Un
Profile Views: 74830
Last Login: 5/25/2012
Member Since 3/20/2006
Website facebook.com/group.php?gid=2373974698&v
Record Label Sbrigyn Ymborth
Type of Label Indie
Bio
ADOLYGIAD BACKDOORMUSIC REVIEW: Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog Dyddiau Du, Dyddiau Gwyn The three Hughes brothers were musically weaned in the small village of Rhos Botwnnog, on the Llŷn Peninsula in North Wales, on a diet of Neil Young and Gram Parsons from their parents’ album collection together with a welter of traditional Welsh folk music. These influences bear direct fruit in their Welsh/Americana form of music that resonates with mystical wistfulness, and particularly in Dyddiau Du, Dyddiau Gwyn, their second full-length album. A stark poignancy is found in many of its lyrics, such as these lines, translated from the title track: Dark days and light days, they come and go like prayers on the wind. God knows what will become of us? There are hints of 70s influences from the likes of Poco and the Eagles on this album as well as from English folk bands from at the time such as Lindisfarne. The slower, gentler tracks have a clear strength and beauty, with their delicious harmonies and echo-laden guitars, that enhance the plaintive quality of the Welsh lyrics. Track 4, “Gan Fy Mod I”, in particular, builds to a powerful harmony-laden crescendo before Iwan Hughes’ yearning solo voice closes the piece with quiet simplicity. The Welsh traditional song ‘Ffarwel I Langyfelach Lon’ also grows in intensity, featuring a rasping lead guitar break at the midway point that fits in well with the sombre feel of this lengthy anthemic number. Some of the mid-tempo songs are lighter in tone and contrast well with the Orbison-esque quality of the richer ballads. Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog consists of Iwan Hughes (vocals, guitar, piano), Aled Hughes (vocals, bass), and Dafydd Hughes (drums), augmented by local friends and musicians – Euron Jones (pedal steel); Branwen Williams (vocals, Rhodes, organ); Llyr Pari (additional guitars). Production is by the multi-talented David Wrench, who has worked previously with a wide variety of artists, including Kathryn Williams, Michael Weston King, Bat for Lashes and Julian Cope. Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog’s debut album Dawns Y Trychfilod was released in 2007 and topped the Welsh music chart for several weeks, with the band headlining several festivals over the next three years. The maturer Americana/Roots sounds of Dyddiau Du, Dyddiau Gwyn should gain a whole new fanbase for the boys from Rhos Botwnnog. A bigger and intriguing question is whether they can they translate their success onto a wider stage. Might they follow in the footsteps of their fellow countrymen Super Furry Animals, who scored a big commercial success in the UK, hitting the UK Top 20 album charts some 10 years ago with their Welsh language CD Mwng? They may not be aiming for such pop crossover success as the Furries, but the beauty and production quality alone should ensure that this album is heard and admired well beyond the confines of their home country. Simon Beards - www.backdoormusic.co.uk ADOLYGIAD SHINDIG! MAGAZINE REVIEW: It’s often easy to forget that in every corner of every town, county or in this case, principality hides an impressive – and usually unassuming – band, seemingly born fully formed into a world of their own recording. I can’t lay claim to discovering North Wales’ exceptional Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog, whose debut album Dawns Y Trychfilod came out back in 2007, but I can say that at last, my ears have been well and truly awed by their sublime songwriting. Everything from the neat Sweetheart Of The Rodeo country slides that slip over this album’s title track to the moving ‘Os Ti’n Dod Nôl’ display a maturity and attention almost too perfect for a band so young. At times they fall victim to one too many moments of introspection, but when the best of them come as naturally as ‘Gan Fy Mod’ and the celebratory highs ring like The Flying Burrito Brothers (‘O! Nansi’), what more can you really ask for? Richard S Jones ADOLYGIAD DAILY POST REVIEW Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog - Dyddiau Du, Dyddiau Gwyn AS STATEMENTS of intent go, the first track on Dyddiau Du, Dyddiau Gwyn, Y Ffenast, may not be the most full frontal way in which a band has kicked off an LP. What it is, though, is a slow burning, softly sung open door into the house of Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog. Milky pedal steel and bright electric guitar, they are a band not afraid to show their influences and Y Ffenast is as short as it is sweet. As blatant as the Americana and country signposts are, the group manage to sound independent from the path to Neil Young via Hank Williams. As their 2008 cover of Paid a Deud demonstrates, they have a strong grounding in Welsh traditional song. Malu’r Ffenestri seems to grow directly from this. Instrumentation is sparse and uncomplicated, managing to sound wild and untamed while being warm and endearing. Unfortunately as the tempo goes up on the album’s title track, the quality makes the opposite journey. The same applies for O! Nansi. It is accomplished but only in the way you would hear in a Texan bar room. There are only a few excursions from the mellow beauty found elsewhere. O! Nansi leads into Os ti’n dod Nôl – a song which proves they can do the country rock standard so much better. The theme for the rest of the album tends to follow a more generic trend, wandering at times into the territory of the rock ballad, albeit gratefully short of fist-pumping Bonnie Tyler choruses. The group owe a lot to Iwan Hughes’ vocals which go some way to holding their efforts together. His voice is left most bare on quiet closer Ll’gada’ Gleision. Haunting and poignant it represents the best of what Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog can achieve. ADOLYGIAD Golwg360.com REVIEW Lle’r oedd eu halbwm cyntaf, Dawns y Trychfilod, yn lot fawr o hwyl, mae albwm newydd Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog yn awgrymu eu bod nhw o ddifri y tro yma. Yn ei gyfweliad diweddar yng nghylchgrawn Y Selar, mae cyfansoddwr y Cowbois, Iwan Hughes wedi bod yn sôn am y pum mlynedd rhwng cyfansoddi caneuon y ddau albwm a’r gwahaniaeth ym mhersonoliaeth rhywun 15 oed o’i gymharu â rhywun 20 oed. Lle’r oedd Dawns y Trychfilod yn gweithio gan ei fod yn ffresh i’r sîn Gymraeg, ac yn wahanol i bob band arall, mae Dyddiau Du Dyddiau Gwyn yn cynnig rhywbeth llawnach, mwy gonest ac yn fwy na dim, yn fwy aeddfed. Y peth arall sy’n amlwg iawn yw’r offerynnau, ac offerynwyr newydd sydd wedi eu cyflwyno i’r band gan greu sŵn llawer llawnach. Efallai mai’r ychwanegiad mwyaf trawiadol ydy sŵn y gitâr bedal ddur Euron ‘Jôs’ sy’n cael ei gyflwyno’n effeithiol iawn ar drac cyntaf yr albwm, Y Ffenast. Beth sydd hefyd yn cael ei gyflwyno o’r cychwyn cyntaf ydy sŵn newydd y Cowbois, fydd efallai’n dod fel ychydig bach o sioc … ac o bosib siom i ffans arddull Dawns y Trychfilod. Yn bersonol, mae’n well gen i’r sŵn llawnach, mwy taclus yma ac mae ‘na naws fach neis i’r albwm. Dwi’n meddwl bod cyfweliadau diweddar efo’r grŵp, a’r holl sôn am ganeuon ‘lleddf’ am ‘dor cariad’ ychydig yn gamarweiniol achos mae o’n albwm tipyn mwy bywiog nag y mae’r band wedi’i awgrymu. Mae’r trac teitl ‘Dyddiau Du, Dyddiau Gwyn’ ac yna ‘O! Nansi’ yn rhoi ffics o’r ‘Hill Billy roc/pync’ poblogaidd a gafwyd ar Dawns y Trychfilod. Mae ‘Celwydd Golau ydy Cariad’ ac ‘Os ti’n dod nôl’ yn bell iawn o fod yn faledi diflas hefyd, ac i’r rhai oedd yn mwynhau stompiau gwallgof y Cowbois nôl tua 2007, mae ‘na hen ddigon o sgôp am setiau byw bywiog. Ond efallai mai’r caneuon llai ‘bywiog’ ydy’r rhai mwyaf trawiadol a chofiadwy. Be dwi ddim yn siŵr amdano ydy’r rheswm am hyn – ydy’r rhain ddim ond yn sefyll allan gan eu bod nhw’n annisgwyl gan y grŵp penodol yma ynteu a’i nhw ydy’r caneuon gorau? Wedi tri neu bedwar gwrandawiad, dwi’n tueddu i ffafrio’r ail reswm Mae’r albwm yn cynnwys dwy gân wedi eu sgwennu gan eraill. Y gyntaf o’r rhain ydy fersiwn o ‘Gan fy Mod i’ gan Nia Morgan a dyma chi fesur o sut mae’r grŵp wedi esblygu eu harddull. Mae’r tair munud a hanner cyntaf yn adeiladwaith torcalonnus sy’n arwain at uchafbwynt epig y byddai Dilwyn Llwyd a Yucatan yn falch ohono! Yr ail addasiad ydy hwnnw o’r gân werin draddodiadol ‘Ffarwel i Langyfelach Lon’ ac mae hon yn uchafbwynt arall o’r albwm. Eto, mae Iwan wedi sôn am ddylanwad grwpiau fel Bob Delyn a’r Ebillion arno dros gyfnod sgwennu’r albwm (mae o’r farn y dylai cerddoriaeth Bob Delyn fod ar y cwricwlwm cenedlaethol), ac mae’r dylanwad hwnnw’n amlwg iawn yma. Mae’r gân yn wyth munud a hanner mewn hyd, sy’n swnio braidd fel ‘indulgence’ gan y grŵp, ond mae’n gweithio i’r dim fel gweddill yr albwm. ADOLYGIAD BLUESBUNNY REVIEW: I was just thinking that an Americana album sung entirely in Welsh was something of a novelty when it occurred to me that it wasn’t really that big a deal. In fact, I doubt that Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog, with their new album “Dyddiau Du, Dyddiau Gwyn” are the only genre practitioners in Wales. Nevertheless, this is a convincing album and provides a degree of (non scientific) evidence that Gram Parsons once trekked over the Welsh hills and valleys even if it did seem at times that Bono must have been following close behind. Despite an almost complete lack of knowledge of the Welsh language, it didn’t take long to get into this album. The sonic familiarity brought by Euron Jones’ pedal steel helped, of course, but the main selling point to me was the intense, and often laconic, voice of Iwan Hughes that exuded the world weary melancholy necessary to sell these songs with ra peak of excellence being reached on “Os Ti’n Dod Nôl”. Americana is a genre that often trips over its own insignificance but not here as Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog go large at every opportunity and I felt the urge to wave my lighter in the air on many an occasion whilst listening to this album. I’ll give the band credit for steadfastly resisting the commercial common sense of including a song in English or even providing an English translation for the lyrics. No matter, for passion is universal and something that you can’t fake. Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog have put that into this album. Review by: Bluesbunny Rating: * * * * ADOLYGIAD http://www.fatea-records.co.uk REVIEW The success of Welsh language recordings outside of Wales isn't good. When people talk about Celtic music they normally mean Gaelic and even then in the general population that really means generic fantasy. It's a shame there is a real beauty in the Welsh language. It's got a harder edge, but no less expression. A band such as Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog must have a real passion and a lot of bottle to seek wider recognition for their music. "dyddiau du, dyddiau gwyn" is great sounding acoustic rock, full of life and energy that stands on merit, not rarity value. ADOLYGIAD Y SELAR REVIEW: Mae’r gaeaf ar riniog y drws ac mae’n amser gwisgo côt a sgarff, ond ar Ragfyr yr 11eg mi fydd hi’n amser i chi roi’ch gwydrau i lawr a chloi eich drysau. Yna, tarwch Dyddiau Du, Dyddiau Gwyn ar eich chwaraewr CDs a gwrandewch – achos wir-yr, mae albwm newydd Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog yn werth chweil ac mae’n haeddu gwrandawiad iawn. I mi mae gwrando ar Dyddiau Du, Dyddiau Gwyn fel cael andros o sgwrs hir bersonol efo hen ffrind. Hanesion o hapusrwydd, unigrwydd, ysfa, cariad a cholli cariad. Gyda thri aelod newydd yn cyfrannu ar yr albwm - Euron “Jos” Jones, Llyr “Tonto” Pari” a Branwen “Sbrings” - mae’r naws gerddorol yn gyfoethog a chain, a geiriau’r caneuon - trŵ tŵ fform gan y ‘fenga o’r cowbois, yn goeth a chofiadwy. Cadwch glust allan am eu fersiwn nhw o ‘Gan fy mod i’ gan Nia Morgan, sy’n drwm dan deimlad ac yn codi croen gŵydd bron a bod, tra bod ‘Y Ffenest’ wedi ei serio ar fy nghof erbyn hyn – ond mae dewis y caneuon gorau ar yr albwm fel dewis siocled o focs Milk Tray – does dim dewis anghywir, maen nhw’i gyd yn fendigedig. Casia Wiliam
Members
Iwan Hughes, Dafydd Hughes, Aled Hughes, Tonto Pari, Branwen Williams, Euron Jones
Influences
Gram Parsons, Neil Young, Bob Delyn 'ar Ebillion, Townes Van Zandt, Felice Brothers, Bruce Springsteen, Motorhead, Phosphorescent
Sounds Like

More ▼Less ▲

Stream

May 07

Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog

New Gig announced in Caernarfon, Wales at Y Maes on 6/7/2012 http://lnk.ms/brxSZ
- LikeYou liked this Unlike
- ·
- Comment
- ·
- Share
- Post a comment...
Apr 24

Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog

New Gig announced in Dolgellau, Wales at Dolgellau on 7/20/2012 http://lnk.ms/bTDSl
- LikeYou liked this Unlike
- ·
- Comment
- ·
- Share
- Post a comment...
Apr 24

Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog

New Gig announced in Pentraeth, Wales at Castellior on 5/26/2012 http://lnk.ms/bdWXZ
- LikeYou liked this Unlike
- ·
- Comment
- ·
- Share
- Post a comment...
Apr 24

Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog

New Gig announced in London, England at What's Cookin, The Birkbeck, Langthonre Rd, East London on 6/13/2012 http://lnk.ms/bdWMf
- LikeYou liked this Unlike
- ·
- Comment
- ·
- Share
- Post a comment...
Mar 31

Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog

New Gig announced in Amlwch, Wales at Copperfest on 7/29/2012 http://lnk.ms/b0dLR
- LikeYou liked this Unlike
- ·
- Comment
- ·
- Share
- Post a comment...