There was a window around 1999 to 2000, I guess, where bands from Wales made up the next big trend in the UK music scene. And while it wasn't just some fickle twist of musical tastes, it was a regrettably fleeting moment. I say that because there were a lot of great Welsh groups then, and many of them kept going even in the absence of the sort of heightened attention that greeted their releases in 2000 or so.
Starting out on Manic Street Preachers producer Greg Haver's Big Noise Recordings, Derrero were one of the most intriguing. The group put a premium on neo-psychedelic meanderings, big hooks, and heartfelt vocals. Their music caught the ears of John Peel and attention from him ensured that even on this side of the Atlantic, music geeks were looking for Derrero releases. Thankfully, after a 17-year break, they resurfaced in 2020 and are still making wonderful tunes.
The new record from the trio, Breezing Up, is out now, and it's full of inventive aural twists and turns. The country-tinged "A Line in Space" suggests time spent listening to recent Teenage Fanclub, or earlier efforts from any UK act who drew inspiration from Big Star. The title cut and the more ruminative "Catherine" share sonic similarities with Super Furry Animals songs, where songcraft is just as important as cramming in smart hooks and nuanced production. "Mile After Mile", a sublime Byrds-y number near the end of the record, charms as much as anything this lot have offered up to date, as does the Pavement-y "Cosmic Shift", the highlight here for me.
Breezing Up by Derrero reveals a unique set of influences. The trio manage to make their obvious love of those things serve the material at hand, such that these numbers do really breeze by a listener. The warmth of Sixties rock mixed with the sharp angularity of Nineties indie, the music of Derrero pleases tremendously. And it's no stretch to say that this one stands shoulder to shoulder to anything they've recorded so far.
Breezing Up by Derrero is out now via Recordiau Prin.
[Photo: Derrero]