The last Catatonia album, for me, was the band’s best. It was an album where I could sense strong introspection and a more vulnerable/fragile side to Cerys Matthews. Critics that wanted ‘more of the same’ were disappointed or just couldn’t be bothered to read between the ‘broken’ lines. And if music isn’t meant to communicate emotion then what the hell is it for? I also never felt that Matthews didn’t possess a voice designed for belting out pop/rock tunes on stage. It was therefore no surprise to me that she went her own way, and if this is the result then I’m very, very pleased.

COCKAHOOP doubtless reflects the lady’s present mood and new-found sense of artistic freedom. And it’s taken her to places I bet she never thought she would ever reach, namely, the backwaters of Nashville, recording in a studio with Bob Dylan and Ryan Adams producer, Bucky Baxter. “It was a departure from anything I had done with Catatonia because we could treat every song differently and bring people in,” she explains. “There was no pressure and it felt natural. I’ve been kicking against the modern way of recording for a long time. I wanted to hear every nuance of the instruments playing together, and the rough edges too.”

Having decided that she wanted to record in Nashville and with a recommendation from a friend to check out Baxter’s studio, Matthews set off for America in June last year. Once the studio and the songs were ready, Baxter set about assembling a crack team of Nashville musicians with the experience and expertise to give the songs the ‘live’ feel that Matthews wanted. “These were people who’d played with Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash and Tammy Wynette. I wasn’t making a country album. They were curious about this girl who speaks this funny language and used to be some sort of pop singer, but who was making a completely different kind of record. It was all down to trust and that grew as we went along.”

The end result does indeed match Matthews’ aspirations with wonderful instrumental performances from guitarist Richard Bennett (Travis Titt, Emmylou Harris), drummer Ken Coomer (once of Wilco and Uncle Tupelo) and multi-instrumentalist Jim Hoke (Confederate Railroad). Vocally, Matthews reminds me in parts of that wonderful alt-country singer/songwriter Victoria Williams, whose voice has that childlike, innocent quality.

With the opening track, Chardonnay, I got the feeling that she is having fun; singing within herself - both physically and emotionally. It’s a bouncy, optimistic, hugely melodic, perfectly arranged song with which she appears supremely comfortable and assured. It could be a single and perhaps should be; not least to inform the fans and others that she has found her musical haven, and she loves it.

Throughout the album there is welcome diversity of pace with songs like the bluegrass Handsome Family classic Weightless Again (a wonderful cover by Matthews) to the light introspection of Only A Fool, to the rapid-fire country ditty Louisiana. Le Bague sees Matthews in rambunctious voice accompanied by talking banjo and drums for a song that lasts all of twenty fun-filled seconds. Miller Of Hooterville opens with thunder claps, then a solitary banjo, then a lonely guitar, then ‘altogether now’ as the vocal drops in. It’s one of the songs where the instrumentals shine like finely cut diamonds, with the excellent production quality adding even more brightness.

Matthews then pulls off a masterstroke as she turns a traditional Welsh song (Arglwydd Dyma Fi) into a gentle bluegrass lament. Great songs and great performances continue with one of my highlights, the raucous and joyous country bash, The Good In Goodbye. There’s only one dud on this record and that’s the rather cold rendition of All My Trials that closes the album.

Matthews observed, “If there’s a theme to this album, it’s simply a story of learning to live and enjoy life again. It’s about finding your feet, learning to have faith, and tasting something that you had forgotten existed.” And that’s precisely what she’s delivered. She added, “I’m looking forward to seeing if people enjoy hearing the record as much as I enjoyed making it. It’s the most honest record I could make.” I can promise you that this is a record you will enjoy, and will want to put on repeat-play. It’s that good.

4.5/5