Album Review

Martyn Rowlands – Rhianna

• 18th Feb 2009

As the world grows ever smaller the Welsh music scene has expanded into all sorts of interesting new areas including rap and hip hop. Now comes Martyn Rowlands with his track Rhianna, which in the current climate, one may think is a lament to the umbrella twirling protégé to Brooklyn rap overlord Jay-Z. Sadly for the bespectacled one this is not the case as Rowlands has gone old-school himself rolling back the years to showcase a sound that harks back to the classic past of Welsh singer songwriters.

The track is a love song for the aforementioned Rhianna who arrived just in time to save our singer from a life sliding down into a dark depression. The undoubted star of this track is the superb voice that Martyn Rowlands possesses which combines superb emotional clarity with a physical strength of conviction that assures the listener of his sincerity. Rowlands represents the strong folk history of Wales with an honest passion that resonates with the listener bringing to mind an age that seems almost past in some ways for its simplicity of sound coupled with an emotional story put across through song.