Barafundle

For the beach in Wales, see Barafundle Bay.

Barafundle
Studio album by Gorky's Zygotic Mynci
Released	7 April 1997
Recorded	Autumn 1996
Genre	Alternative rock, psychedelic folk, neo-prog, Britpop
Length	47:57
Label	Fontana
Producer	Gorwel Owen, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci chronology
Bwyd Time (1995) Barafundle (1997) Gorky 5 (1998)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[2]
Entertainment Weekly	A− [3]
The Guardian	[4]
NME	8/10 [5]
Rolling Stone	[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[7]
Select	4/5 [8]
Sputnikmusic	4.5/5 [9]
Wall of Sound	85/100 [10]

Barafundle is the fourth album by Welsh psychedelic folk band Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, which was released 7 April 1997 in the United Kingdom. The album's title comes from the name of a beach in Pembrokeshire, Wales.

Songs are often sung in both Welsh and English, and the album's influences range from twee-pop to traditional folk music. Lynn Childs, father of singer Euros and violinist Megan, plays shawm and other traditional instruments on the album's occasional medieval interludes (for example, on "Starmoonsun").

Singles

Two singles were released from the album. The first single, "Patio Song", was released in late 1996 and became the band's highest-charting single in the UK, peaking at #41 in early 1997. The song also ranked #8 on John Peel's 1996 Festive Fifty countdown. ^[11]

The second single, "Diamond Dew", reached #42 on the UK Singles Chart in mid-1997. A contemporaneous non-album single, "Young Girls & Happy Endings", was also released in 1997 and appeared as a bonus track on some American copies of the album.

Track listing

All songs written by Euros Childs unless otherwise stated.

1. "Diamond Dew" (Childs/James) – 2:50
2. "The Barafundle Bumbler" – 1:53
3. "Starmoonsun" (Lawrence) – 3:04
4. "Patio Song" – 2:43
5. "Better Rooms..." – 3:46
6. "Heywood Lane" (Lawrence/Childs) – 2:52
7. "Pen Gwag Glas" – 3:59
8. "Bola Bola" – 1:53
9. "Cursed, Coined and Crucified" (Lawrence) – 2:27
10. "Sometimes the Father Is the Son" (James) – 3:21
11. "Meirion Wyllt" – 2:48
12. "The Wizard and the Lizard" (Lawrence/Childs) – 1:58
13. "Miniature Kingdoms" (Lawrence/Childs) – 4:17
14. "Dark Night" – 4:49
15. "Hwyl Fawr I Pawb" (M. Childs) – 1:48
16. "Wordless Song" – 3:20
17. "Young Girls & Happy Endings" - 2:25 (US Bonus Track)

Personnel

• Euros Childs - vocals, piano, organ, synths, electric piano, harmonium, guitar (5)
• John Lawrence - guitar, vocals, bass (1,2), jaw harp (1,12), electric piano (3), organ (3,13), recorder (3,5,12), piano (9), bodhran (3)
• Megan Childs - violin, vocals, viola, organ (9), piano (15)
• Richard James - bass, guitar, piano (10), organ (10), synth (4)
• Euros Rowlands - drums, percussion
• Gorwel Owen - piano (2,16), synth (7)
• Fiona Owen - vocals (6,11,14)
• Lynn Childs - shawm, crumhorn
• Tom Rawlins - shawm, crumhorn, hurdy-gurdy
• Stuart Evans - shawm, flute
• Andrew Frizzell - trombone, flute
• Simon James - sax, flute
• Martin Smith - trumpet, marching horn

References

1. Raggett, Ned. "Barafundle – Gorky's Zygotic Mynci". AllMusic . Retrieved 3 April 2020.
2. Larkin, Colin (2007). "Gorky's Zygotic Mynci". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0195313734.
3. Smith, Ethan (26 September 1997). "Barafundle". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 3 April 2020.
4. Sullivan, Caroline (11 April 1997). "Gorky's Zygotic Mynci: Barafundle (Fontana)". The Guardian .
5. Cameron, Keith (5 April 1997). "Gorky's Zygotic Mynci – Barafundle". NME . Archived from the original on 13 November 1999. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
6. Levine, Robert (30 October 1997). "Gorky's Zygotic Mynci: Barafundle". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on 9 March 2005. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
7. Sinagra, Laura (2004). "Gorky's Zygotic Mynci". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p.  339. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
8. Male, Andrew (May 1997). "Gorky's Zygotic Mynci: Barafundle". Select . No. 83.
9. Jared P. (28 July 2010). "Gorky's Zygotic Mynci – Barafundle". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
10. Himmelsbach, Erik. "Review: Barafundle". Wall of Sound. Archived from the original on 15 April 2001. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
11. "Radio 1 - Keeping It Peel - Festive 50s - 1996". BBC. Retrieved 15 January 2012.

External links

• Barafundle at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)
• Barafundle page on Euros Childs's official website