Cerys Matthews Cock-A-Hoop. Release Date : October 26, 2004. Label: Sanctuary. Rating: Andy doesn't dig rating stuff. That unmistakeable voice of Cerys Matthews. Prior to looking at this album, I actually didn't know the name of the raspy, choppy voice that was the signature of Catatonia, although I knew a fair bit of the band's music. But here she is, out on her own. It's a bit of a surprising collection of songs. There are lots of humming organs and strings, banjos, cellos... the raspy voice is charming. It's not a quality I'd ordinarily associate with the adjective 'raspy' but I guess it's that stumbly, childlike quality that she seems to have that makes it so. It's happy and summery sounding, much happier sounding than we'd be accustomed to with Catatonia. Did I mention there's banjos in this? It's really country. And it's all so darn cute. French on "Bague"? We begin to get thrust from the country to the carnival suddenly, with violins and tubby drums - it's like prosting with huge beer tankards in a tavern somwhere in Europe. Those unfamiliar with Catatonia might find Matthews' similar to Macy Gray. "Arglwydd Dyma Fi"... what is this, elvish? A quick search shows me it's Welsh. I suddenly feel extremely uncultured. Tonight i put the good back in goodbye. That's strong words from track 11, another strong track. The cellos are great. She starts wailing here near the end, so powerful. "All My Trials" is sad... death. But death = freedom in this case. A delightful little collection that seems so light overall. Song of choice : "If You're Looking For Love" is the best on this. It's a super-saucy track. -Andy Scheffler Elsewhere Cerys Matthews website Published : January, 2005.