Johnny Mango 2nd November 2000

Melys - are they going to be the next big thing to come out of Wales? Using their new single as evidence then we can be certain that they do come from Wales, Betws-y-Coed at the foot of Snowdonia to be precise. We can also conclude that they deserve to gain recognition for their beautifully crafted lyrics and emotion inspiring songs. A bonus, as anyone who heard their recent John Peel Live in Cardiff sessions or seen them live will testify, is Melys can also hack it live.

There is a theme to all three tracks on the single as it looks at different stages of relationships the title track seemingly a battle of wills, All Played Out is a beautiful tale of when a relationship is strong enough to discard unnecessary mind games and Beautiful Breakdown is a sad account of devotion dealing with adversity, a mini kitchen sink drama which descends into powerful dark orchestration before breaking through to hope and beauty.

Melys are not on a major label and do not have a large marketing budget however, they do make wonderful music, time will tell if the record buying public are discerning enough to care.

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