Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog – Celwydd Golau Ydi Cariad
Similar artists: Bob Dylan, R.E.M., Neil Young
Genre: Americana, Alt Country, Folk
People write letters to their president, senators, or other representatives. They talk about the issues with which they and the world are dealing. They tell them how bad it is and that, at any moment, things could get worse. And they ask that their issue be addressed swiftly.
The people who write these letters might get some consolation from having written in. After all, they made the effort. But more often than not, nobody stops to address their issue. Even more often than that, their letters are rarely even opened.
Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog may have just found the only way that they can protect their beloved Welsh language or their pure sentiments for the world. They’ve put them in a song. “Celwydd Golau Ydi Cariad” does its job well. You’re very unlikely to understand what it means, but that won’t stop you from understanding how the musicians feel. That’s the kind of letter that gets opened.
Annie Schultz – Repetition
Genre: Indie Folk
Becoming an artist almost certainly guarantees some form of pain. It may not be torture much different from the artist’s peers. But by the very nature of the trade they are voluntarily choosing to adhere to, artists make themselves more vulnerable.
It may be a cliche to say that these people, with their stories and songs feel their woes more intensely and even delight in their sorrows from time to time. Like many cliches, it’s likely true. This is because this kind of fine-tuned sensitivity is the only way to get to a truth that helps create great art.
Annie Schultz’s “Repetition” finds a songwriter chasing great work and getting hurt in the process. It’s how it usually goes. And it’s enough to break many people down. Schultz is wise enough to document this journey and make her words and guitar do the easy work.
