Album Review: Utopia by Gwenno

The fact that seven out of Utopia's 10 tracks are sung in English may come as a bit of a surprise development. Although the change of language may well have commercial implications (it can't hurt to have the words easily understood by a significantly higher percentage of the population, especially as Saunders' lyrics dazzle equally in majority and minority languages), there are genuine creative or perhaps thematic reasons for the swap in dominant songwriting language. Whereas 2022's Tresor, 2018's Le Kov (which was credited for sparking a revived interest in Cornish language) and 2014's debut Y Dodd Olaf drew inspiration from fragmented childhood memories and settings, which were inevitably marinaded and as such best expressed in the languages that surrounded Saunders as a child, Utopia finds the focus shift to (predominantly early) adulthood.

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A reflective journey through memory and identity from an artist who proves that her music knows no boundaries, linguistic or otherwise Anybody who’s followed Gwenno Saunders’ career since leaving The Pipettes will know to expect the unconventional. In the last decade, she’s released three albums, all sung in either the Welsh or Cornish language. Her solo material is as far removed from the day-glo pop of The Pipettes, instead being dreamlike electronica tackling subjects like loss of culture and regional identity.

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There's a couple of things that set Gwenno Saunders' fourth solo album Utopia apart from her previous projects. For one, it's primarily in English. Her 2014 debut LP Y Dydd Olaf was sung in Welsh and subsequent projects, 2018's Le Kov and 2022's Tresor, in Cornish. With lyrics recalling her adolescence spent in London, Las Vegas, Brighton and Cardiff, Utopia is an altogether more urban album, recounting experiences of nightclubs and bus rides and thrumming streets.

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Utopia is the latest offering from Welsh musician Gwenno. Matching 2022's Mercury Prize-nominated Tresor would be no mean feat. But with a silky-smooth caramel nostalgia reminiscent of 2000s indie, combined with dreamy Portishead soundscapes, Gwenno's latest endeavour broaches exciting new territory. Building on the atmospheric yet self-assured soundscapes of her previous two works, Utopia is an orderly tangle of self-exploration, ruminations on youth, and healing from past traumas.

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