Ynys, Sybs, Lafant – Y Cwps, Aberystwyth

Another gig night in Aberystwyth to see three Welsh bands. It’s my second visit to the town for live music, and to this venue, the Coopers Arms (Y Cŵps). An hour and 10 minutes each way from home – even though it was dark and drizzling, it’s not a bad drive. I think I saw about 10 cars on the way home.

Aberystwyth is an odd town – quirky, great bar on the pier, but nowhere to park and very few places to eat. Well, lots of places to eat but most are terrible, and the good ones have signs up saying they’re full! And it rains every time I go there. I still kind of like it though.

First band up were Lafant who were pretty good. Don’t seem to have any social media or streaming presence at all! I think they are from Carmarthen but that’s all I can tell you.

Next band were Sybs (pronounced “subs”). This was the first time I had seen them live and was looking forward to it as they had recorded my favourite track of 2020, Anwybodeath (ignorance). Their debut album – Olew Nadroedd (snake oil) took another 4 years to appear! They’re a noisy, choatic and melodic band in the mould of The Fall, Elastica and Gang Of Four. I had a chat with singer Osian after their gig and a second album is ready to record. Tonight’s set had a lot of new tracks.

This was the third time I’ve seen headliners Ynys and it was definitely the best. I always struggle to explain what they sound like so I’m going to go with their blurb – “a rich collection of melancholic harmonies, over a soundtrack of 80’s sequencers, 70’s string machines, and fuzz guitars”. Both of their albums – Ynys (island) and Dosbarth Nos (night class) are well worth getting and they sound even better on stage.

It was also a good opportunity to try out my new phone, a OnePlus 13. I forgot to take my old phone, a S21 Ultra, so I couldn’t compare. I was quite close to the stage and the lighting was very good so hard to tell, but pleased with last night’s results.