With the opportunity to ruminate on Wales’ effervescent year of releases that the inaugural Welsh Music Prize gave us, one undeniably noticeable absence from its impressive list was Little Arrow’s Music, Masks And Poems. Elegantly defined, epiphany-laden, thoughtful and instrumentally rich, it’s fair to say there were few more assured debut LPs released, not just in Wales, but in the whole God damn world!
Both the LP, and Little Arrow more broadly, are beneficiaries of sensitive ears to the folk tradition, old and new. At points the female harmonies around Williams Hughes’ main vocal line conjure reminiscences of Beverley and John Martyn. At others, the melodics and pastoral imagery echo the contemporary arrangements of Bowerbirds. And throughout all of it, the songwriting feels like a more believable re-imagining of Johnny Flynn’s rustic approach to the genre.
Of course, those ‘in the know’ are familiar with Hughes from his fondly remembered time in cult Cardiff indie legends Frederick Stanley Star. Nevertheless, even those ‘in the know’ had to be surprised by the rich and resonant depth both that the LP exuded, and that their live shows continue to demonstrate. Indeed, one of this year’s live musical highlights was catching a mesmerising acoustic show in the delightfully miniscule setting of Thé Pot. There, completely unplugged, unfurled the kind of sonic massage that makes your lips go all droopy. Impeccably entwined guitar and uke lines, technically perfect and carefully paced percussion, splashes of accordion, harmonica and more. And before that all stood multiple vocal harmonies dispensing lyrical wisdoms that only the wild West of Wales can seemingly inspire. Credit goes both to Hughes for his expansive musical and lyrical palette, and to his bandmates – Daisy Haran, Ben Sharpe, Richard Robinson and Daniel Messore – who precisely bring it all to life.
Despite their absence from the Welsh Music Prize list, on the back of their output so far, Little Arrow’s arc is aiming at the moon. A recent slobberknocking SWN show, and the promise of recently published snippets ahead of the imminent second LP, rightly give us all cause to suffer a bout of anticipatory ear shivers. New track Meadows particularly has all of the excitement of the early Devendra Banhart demos; Hughes’ vocal quivering with the beauty of a slowing moth’s wing, while the lyrical content weaves fittingly into the ember-glowing, campfire warmth of the acoustics.
With a release date planned for December, that album launch may well be something utterly special indeed. SMR
