Sibling trio Plu’s are an interesting and unusual proposition: hailing from Snowdonia, they offer a thoughtful and accomplished take on ‘alternative Welsh language folk music with hints of country / Americana’. If I were to be facetious, I might ask what they’re alternative to, given the niche nature of Welsh language folk, but I’m not here to nitpick, particularly as I am aware of just how much music is bubbling out of Wales right now. The fact that most of it seems to be hard rock, punk-pop, alt-rock and metalcore places Plu’s folk stylings in an ‘alternative’ position, and the hybridity of their sound only adds to this.
The three-part harmonies are delicate and light, but avoid being overly sugary, and are the key to the appeal of the sweetly melancholic ‘Byd o Wydr’ and the softly skipping ‘Calon Wen’; elsewhere, there are hints of The Mamas and the Papas about the richly melodic ‘Simson.’
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The dreamy, drifting slide guitar on ‘Ambell I Gan’ represents the leanings toward Americana without sounding forced or otherwise incongruous, and there’s a more trad-folk feel to ‘Gollwng Gafeel’.
Delicate and thoughtfully arranged, beautifully performed and ultimately very pleasant.
Plu Online
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