It’s good to know that the Truck Monster has a fellow Super Furry Animal to play with this year. Gruff Rhys has been one of foremost exponents of ambitious pop and rock music for 20 years now and it’s Truck’s pleasure to have him as a headliner. Whether onstage with the now legendary Super Furry’s, creating stunning electronic-pop under the guise of Neon Neon or performing solo, Gruff has always possessed the enviable knack of excelling at everything he does.
Super Furry Animals first made their name in Cardiff during the early nineties with their leftfield take on pop music which made them one of the most interesting and enduring British bands of the past two decades. Much like last year’s Truck headliners Teenage Fanclub, the Super Furry’s have aged remarkably and as each year passes their music becomes more and more endearing to listeners tracing back through Britain”s musical heritage. The band transcended much of the turgid Brit-Pop of the 1990s and jangly indie of the Noughties to emerge as the undisputed kings of psychedelic rock. Every music fan should own their superlative debut Fuzzy Logic as well as their cosmically inspired opus Rings Around The World.
If there is one thing which has made Gruff a living musical legend, it’s his admirable ability to change styles effortlessly. Never content to rest on his laurels, he has collaborated with bands as diverse as Mogwai and Gorillaz and, in 2008, he and American producer/musician Boom Bip, won mass acclaim for their outstanding take on electro-pop as Neon Neon. Their debut album Stainless Steel was a massive hit with both the critics and fans, winning them a Mercury Music Prize nomination.
On his own, Gruff is just as astounding. His 2011 album Hotel Shampoo is as gutsy and eclectic as any of his previous work, except this time Gruff flaunts his exemplary skills as a mature song-writer and craftsman of pop music.
Expect a bit of old, a bit of new, plenty bold and nothing to leave you feeling blue; Gruff Rhys will provide a genuine feel-good set of amazing pop and rock music, further validating the fact he is undoubtedly one of the finest song-writers of his and our generation.
