''Yr Atal Genhedlaeth'' is the debut solo album by

Super Furry Animals Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band formed in Cardiff in 1993. For the duration of their professional career, the band consisted of Gruff Rhys (lead vocals, guitar), Huw Bunford (lead guitar, vocals), Guto Pryce (bass guitar), Cian C ...

frontman

Gruff Rhys Gruffudd Maredudd Bowen Rhys (; born 18 July 1970) is a Welsh musician, composer, producer, filmmaker and author. He performs solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals, which obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He forme ...

. Entirely in the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

, the title of the album and many of the songs are plays on words and puns that might not be obvious even to a Welsh-speaker: *Yr Atal Genhedlaeth – 'The Stuttering Generation', but 'atalgenhedlu' is Welsh for a

contraceptive Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

. *Gwn Mi Wn – 'I Know

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

I Know', could also mean 'a gun I know', a reference to the battle in the song. *Epynt – named after a mountain in Mid Wales, but about money, with the 'E' standing for the Euro, and 'pynt' sounding similar to the Welsh word for Pound. *Rhagluniaeth Ysgafn – Means “light providence”. The song isabout asking for mercy in passing from this world to the next. Talks of the good and bad deeds carried out in life and the pleading for mercy. *Pwdin Ŵy 1 & 2 – literally 'egg pudding', means '"egg custard', two love songs. *Y Gwybodusion – 'The Experts' *Caerffosiaeth – literally 'sewage fortress'. '

Caer Caer (; or ') is a placename element in Welsh meaning "stronghold", "fortress", or "citadel", roughly equivalent to an Old English suffix (''-ceaster'') now variously written as , , and .Allen, Grant"Casters and Chesters" in ''The Cornhill Ma ...

' is a common part of Welsh place-names (for example, Caergybi), used to indicate that there was originally a castle or fortress in the town/city. *Ambell Waith – 'Sometimes'. *Ni Yw Y Byd – 'We Are The World'. *Chwarae'n Troi'n Chwerw – 'When Play Turns Bitter', from a Welsh proverb. A Welsh language standard originally written and sung by Caryl Parry-Jones.

Track listing

All songs by Gruff Rhys unless otherwise stated. #"Yr Atal Genhedlaeth" – 0:08 #"Gwn Mi Wn" – 2:33 #"Epynt" – 1:48 #"Rhagluniaeth Ysgafn" – 2:55 #"Pwdin Ŵy 1" – 1:42 #"Pwdin Ŵy 2" – 3:13 #"Y Gwybodusion" – 1:52 #"Caerffosiaeth" – 2:58 #"Ambell Waith" – 2:22 #"Ni Yw Y Byd" – 3:56 #"Chwarae'n Troi'n Chwerw" (Caryl Parry Jones) – 6:04

Track listing

References

Further reading