Cockahoop

Review by for Cockahoop
Rating:
This album finally sees Cerys taking things at a gentler pace and enjoying making music for the sake of it. The feel is more Country than Catatonia, but the mix of tracks still allows Cerys to explore the full range of her vocal capabilities, from the light vocals of Only a Fool and Arglwyd Dyma Fi to the full-on blast of La Bague and If You’re Looking for Love. Cerys has chosen her musicians well; the musical accompaniment is rich and full. I’ve had every one of the tracks stuck on my brain in succession over the past week, with Louisiana being particularly catchy. The closing track, All My Trials, must be the most beautiful performance of this particular song that I’ve ever heard. All in all, the perfect feelgood album.

Review by for Cockahoop
Rating:
If you are a tunnel-visioned Catatonia fan you probably won’t like this album. Overall I think it is good and at times, really good. Hopefully Cerys will continue to mine even richer musical veins rather than returning to the sometimes excellent but often restrictive Catatonia formula. It you like it then have a listen to some of the other exceedingly talented alt.country/folk type musos out there: Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlins, The Be Good Tanyas, Erin McKeown and of course The Handsomes. It is a pity that our radio stations don’t play more of this stuff instead of tedious manufactured pap (sorry pop) and mediocre pseudo R&B.

Review by for Cockahoop
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Cerys Matthews always had a certain something; her distinctive voice defined Catatonia and helped power them to a number of hits. However, she has calmed down somewhat since then, and this, her debut solo album, shows a whole new change of direction. Folksy, featuring gentle melodies, a varied range of instruments and a simple, genuine feel makes Cock-a-hoop wonderfully easy listening, topped off by Cerys’ brilliant delivery. Listening to the album leaves you in no doubt that Cerys is a lot happier than she used to be, she sounds like she is finally enjoying herself, and this is one of the reasons that this album is so good to listen to – there is such a happy vibe.Fans of Catatonia’s big chart successes should be warned that Cock-a-hoop is a completely different sound. Do not be lead astray – the first single ‘Only a Fool’ is easily the most chart-orientated song. Indeed, there are a number of traditional songs, which will not be to everyones tastes. If the idea of banjos puts you off, then this album probably isn’t for you. However, for everyone else, ‘Arglwydd Dyma Fi’ in particular is tremendous reworking of an old Methodist Hymn, beautifully sung with a delightful accompaniment.
There are a number of tracks that appeal, at least at first, more than the others, but overall the album is a strong one, and will definitely grow on the listener with every listening.A couple of slightly weaker tracks, and possibly the lack of real standout song prevent the album from being required listening, but for Cerys fans and for those after something different to all the seemingly endless bland pop music look no further. A very pleasing first effort.

Review by Music Junkie for Never Said Goodbye
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Cerys’ second solo album sees her moving away from the contry-esque, bluegrass feel of cockahoop and back to a fuller band sound. However, its still a world away from Catatonia and is hard to describe what genre it falls into. There’s elements of psychadelic pop, rock, and a bit of folk thrown in for good measure but what remains constant throughout is the superb standard of songwriting, which is intelligent and melodic. Cerys definitely has a ‘marmite’ voice – people either tend to love it or hate it. I fall into the first category and can honestly say it’s never sounded better than it does now. Her vocals move effortlessly from a soothing whisper (Blue Light Alarm) to soaring (Open Roads) to all-out howling (Oxygen – probably the best song on the album) coming fairly close to her old Catatonia sound in parts. The really good thing about this release though is that it builds on her former music career and doesn’t try to imitate it. The album follows a musical journey, mirroring the personal one taken by Cerys in her post Catatonia days, from escaping her problems and fleeing to America in the opening track ‘Streets of New York’ to finding happiness and returning home to Wales for the albums closer, the beautiful welsh-language ballad ‘Elen’. A truly fantastic album that deserves the title of 2006′s best kept musical secret – buy it!

Review by Andrew Clayton for Never Said Goodbye
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I enjoyed Cock a hoop, and love Cerys style of singing. but this CD, Never said Goodbye, is quite different. Much harder rockier sound. Not so warm. I’ve only played it the once, maybe I need to give it time.