aka The Vinyl Villain incorporating Is This The Life?
#9: Blodyn Gwyrdd by Tristwch Y Fenywod
This week’s band comes from the ancient Welsh-speaking heartland of Leeds, a…. wait, Leeds? Let me just check that……. Nope, I’m right, they’re from Leeds. So what the hell are they doing on Welsh Wednesday? Well, I mean, their name, right? And the song title? And the fact it’s sung completely in Welsh. Oh, and at least two of the members are actually Welsh. Look, Julian Cope qualified back in the original series because he was born a few miles the right side of the border, so if he gets in, so do Tristwch Y Fenywod.
Gwretsien Ferch Lisbeth, Sidni Sarffwraig and Leila Lygad are all members of other bands on the underground scene in goth’s first city. They collaborated following trips to North Wales and deciding to play instruments other than their usual ones. Leila, usually a vocalist, learned the drums, while Gwretsien invented a new instrument, which essentially consists of two differently tuned zithers stuck together.
The result: a band whose name translates as Sadness Of Women and who sound like a cross between early Dead Can Dance and The Cure (‘Pornography’-era). They definitely would have been signed to 4AD back in the 80s, and would have played the same festivals as Sisters Of Mercy, The Rose Of Avalanche and numerous other Leeds-based goth luminaries.
They released their self-titled debut album back in August, a record described as an “unholy grail of edgy, atmospheric, occult feminist goth emissions.” Blodyn Gwyrdd (trans. Green Flower) is the record’s opening track, and is without a doubt the most haunting music you’ll hear today. And a tad unsettling too, perhaps.
mp3: Blodyn Gwyrdd – Tristwch Y Fenywod (‘Tristwch Y Fenywod’, 2024)
These mysterious elfins seemingly shy away from visuals, so there’s no video this week. I did toy with finding some classic Welsh goth as an alternative, but the only band of that ilk I could track down was Gene Loves Jezebel, and they were shite…
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 