Main roles are cast to the acostic
guitars, Beatles-esque drums and Rhys' distinctively nasal and always low-key
vocals, but the essence of Candylion lies in the details, the carefully
placed samples of backward guitars, strings, harmonica riffs and weird, mellow
noises. Expect a few surprises too:
"Lonesome Words" sounds like a melancholic tribute to
spaghetti western, the hymnical folk of "Con Carino" is
followed by Welsh-language "Gyrru gyrru gyrru," a dynamic
piece of driving soundtrack, while the title track is merely a sweet and simple
example of great songwriting. The 14-minute closing track "Skylon!"
is also worth a mention on its own: a tale of a plane hijacking, full of quiet
anxiety, that hints to what a collaboration between Thom Yorke and Bob
Dylan would sound like.
Come to think of it, it's a bit of a
mystery how all these elements can work together. But for certain they do. And
if the result is not exactly revolutionary in any way, it is tasty indeed.