While Super Furry Animals, indisputably Wales' oddest band, take something of a lengthy break, along comes Guto Pryce and his new band to banish rain, financial embarrassment and other things that might spoil the rest of the summer. Assisted and enhanced by Pryce's wife, Lindsey Leven, Gulp conjure up a sound- track that could only be bettered if Stereolab and Kraftwerk joined forces with Pentangle's Jacqui McShee. This, then, is a sonic lovechild of a special kind: Let's Grow and Vast Space feature motorik rhythms that wrap, vice- like, around 1960s-influenced psychedelic pop. Seasoned Sun brilliantly references meaty prog rock keyboards (hello, Green- slade) while praying to God for the ghost of Sandy Denny to appear. One perfect pop/psych gulp after another? A beauty. gulpgulp.co.uk
Download: Let's Grow, Vast Space, Seasoned Sun, I Want to Dance