1985-1995

This collection, packed to the CD brim, draws together singles and rarities — and even a Christmas release! — from this obscure though influential Welsh group. The liner-note praise from the Super Furry Animals' Gruff Rhys gives a sense of the band's importance, but the music says so even more. By defiantly sticking to Welsh lyrics for nearly all of its compositions, bandleader David Edwards may have limited his group's immediate listenership but helped point a way forward for such Welsh-and-proud-of-it bands like Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, the Super Furries, and even Catatonia. That said, musically Datblygu favored a familiar but charming blend of indie rock and dance inspirations, combined with minimal guitar and synth arrangements. At times the results suggest the restrained energy of both forebears like the Young Marble Giants and later acts such as the Field Mice, but generally with a slightly darker turn, thus the bass-led "Mynd" or the more dance-friendly but still just doomy enough "Santa a Barbara." Edwards' spoken word bite in turn could be a less rambling Mark E. Smith — check out "Braidd" or "Sgorio Dafydd Iwn Dyn Eira," where both music and singing definitely hint at the Fall (the latter in particular sounds like Smith in one of his hit-the-dancefloor turns). His singing voice stands on its own, lower but not bass-pitched, raggedly strong and reflective all at once. Rhys' liner-note comparison of Edwards to Serge Gainsbourg has a point as well, though at points this can be heard just as readily in the music — check the wry, loping stroll of "Hollol, Hollol, Hollol" or the Euro-breakbeat elegant slide "Maes E." Pat Morgan is Edwards' main musical foil on most of the tracks — presumably she's the one shown at the keyboard in one photo, looking bemused at the semi-flying kick Edwards seems to be directing toward it.