Hotel Shampoo

Gruff Rhys’ most soulful and peaceful collection of songs to date

The forty year old Welsh guitarist, drummer, singer and songwriter Gruff Rhys is a person interesting in every way. First, he is known for playing a right-handed guitar with his left hand and holding it upside down because he initially learned to play his brother’s left-handed guitar. Second, as a musician he is both a member of successful bands forming his own project at the same time and a solo artist. Finally his Welsh roots serve an inseparable part of his musical handwriting. Starting as the front man of once famous bold collective Ffa Coffi Pawb disbanded in 1993, Rhys has composed and performed more than one hit in his native language with the band Super Furry Animals, agreeing to write songs in English only to create more mainstream compositions. 2005 saw the release of Gruff’s debut solo album Yr Atal Genhedlaeth, fully performed in Welsh. The musician created the electro-pop project Neon Neon in 2007 releasing his sophomore solo effort Candylion a bit earlier which included songs in English, Welsh and Spanish. This year Gruff Rhys releases his third solo album Hotel Shampoo, his most soulful and peaceful collection of songs to date.

Hotel Shampoo’s touching story

The album’s title, Hotel Shampoo, is explained by Gruff Rhys’ hobby, he collects used little bottles of shampoos he gets in hotels’ numbers during his numerous touring trips. The musician has constructed a miniature hotel out of them and called his third work in its honor. This wonderful record is comprised of thirteen songs which are as touching as the story of its title. It opens with a careless track Shark Ridden Waters in the beginning of which one can hear a joyful dialogue in Italian and radio noises. This mood is continued on the gentle composition Honey All Over full in which the memorable chorus’ tune is underlined by handsome backing vocals. A livelier number Sensations In The Dark is refined with a mariachi-spirited wind ensemble, and on Vitamin K Rhys is demonstrating his vulnerable side – the song is devoted to breakup with his dearly beloved woman. The contagious mid-tempo rhythm, smoothing guitar and melodious trumpets make the song Take A Sentence one of the album’s highlights to which the most complicated and heavy Christopher Columbus number can also be referred. Saxophone, guitar, damped vocals, all of it attracts attention. Light female vocals refine the weightless song Space Dust #2, and the highest notes in Rhys’ voice can be heard on the endlessly soulful track At The Heart Of Love. The most interesting lyrics forms the base of the very beautiful song If We Were Words (We Would Rhyme), in which guitars and piano are joined into most unusual melodic patterns, and the album closer is a sad nostalgic composition Rubble Rubble, listening to which the quarreled couples are going to make peace, and those broken up will miss their ex beloved.

Integral, complete and absolutely not annoyingly soft album

Thinking about love, sketches of life situations, conversations, thoughts – all of it has become the base to lyrics on Hotel Shampoo. Musically the album presents a charming light mixture of guitar, keyboard and wind melodies, peaceful singing and memorable choruses with harmonious backing vocals. Gruff Rhys’ voice passing from gentle falsetto to vulnerable vocals has never sounded that calm and reserved which can be quite surprising for the fans of his bands who are used to hearing more powerful parts from him. Nevertheless the album has proved to be integral, complete and absolutely not annoyingly soft. Similar to the rest of his solo creations only due to his voice and general slant, combining romance and philosophy, Hotel Shampoo showcases the vulnerable Gruff Rhys inclined to be reflective and nostalgic, and that cannot bother anyone. Making his solo works out of songs which do not fit the format of his bands, Rhys every time gives us a chance to make sure of the wide range of his ideas and abilities. Hence, this is hopefully not his last solo work.