Richard James/ We Went Riding

Richard James
We Went Riding
(Gwymon)

Alongside the Super Furry Animals, Gorkys Zygotic Mynci were responsible for some incredible psychedelic Welsh pop throughout the last couple of decades. Band co-founder Richard James was "the quiet one" in the group, creating hushed moments of celtic intimacy that felt like candlelit evenings spent in caves.
Then someone blew the candles out. When Gorkys disbanded in 2006, they clearly had so much energy still to burn that singer Euros Childs released five albums in four years. Richard James meanwhile, has taken a more leisurely, almost monk-like route. 'We Went Riding' is his second solo album and, predictably, it's a work of awesomeness.
We all know that James excels at a peculiar breed of sunshine melancholy ('When You See me') as well as quietly romantic folk songs ('When The letter Arrives'), but he's perhaps lesser known perhaps as the deranged, whiskey drinking cowboy from hell as evidenced on 'Blues (Hey Hey Hey)'.
Add to the mix some guest appearances from Gorkys' own Euros Childs and Cate Le Bon (who adds a certain ghostliness to 'Waiting Road'), the result is above all a graceful, patient record - and the perfect antidote to these stress-as-virtue times.