“Untouchable”: Gruff Rhys on the most overlooked collaborative album of all time
If there’s any musician who’d know all about cult classic albums, ones just a little bit too creative and out there for mass appeal but mean the world to those in the know, it would be Gruff Rhys. The Super Furry Animals’ main man knows all about being thrillingly on the edge of the mainstream. They are, after all, the band with the most singles to reach the UK top 40 without ever breaking the top ten. He’d also be the guy to ask about creative collaborations, as his work with Boom Bip in Neon Neon stealthily paved the way for the next decade and a half of mainstream pop music.
When NME compiled a list of 100 cult albums to hear before you die, it’s no surprise that Gruff Rhys was one of the first names to consult—and his choice didn’t disappoint. His pick was the self-titled debut album by Cardinal, a Boston-based duo whose work isn’t just a stunning record (and it truly is worth a listen); it’s also a masterclass in blending two distinct creative visions into a seamless whole.
Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, Richard Davies came to prominence in his home country as the singer for The Moles. Upon hitting the limits of what one can achieve in the land down under alone, Davies split the band up and travelled the world. He moved first to London, then settled down in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1992, where he struck up a friendship with composer and producer Eric Matthews. The two decided to combine their efforts in a band they named after one of the most common yet lovely sights in the whole New England area, the Cardinal.
Rhys himself sums up the appeal of the album best in the NME article, stating: “Cardinal was the perfect partnership of the supreme songwriting of Australian Richard Davies and the lush voice and arrangements of Californian Eric Matthews. Together, they were untouchable – Davies had the most instinctive songwriting skills and killer melodies since David Bowie, and Matthews had a truly unique soulful voice and the arranging skills of Burt Bacharach.” One listen to the record shows how absolutely on the money he is.
Matthews is a musical polymath, playing everything from the harpsichord and the marimba to the trumpet and everything in between in a way that perfectly compliments Davies’ songwriting. However, the tragedy is that we’re discussing this album being on a list of overlooked classics.
Of course, this being an album of sophisticated, literate chamber pop means that it had all the commercial appeal of a mime’s podcast. That’s even before one considers this was released in 1994. The grunge movement had well and truly taken flight, and this thoughtful, classy set didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell, no matter how critically acclaimed it was.
Matthews and Davies did manage to put together a band to tour the record, but internal disagreements led to the band’s ending a year after the record’s release. The duo have since had extensive solo careers, Davies making numerous solo records and Matthews performing as a sideman for the likes of Elliott Smith and the Dandy Warhols. However, the two reconnected in the late 2000s, which resulted in a second Cardinals album, 2012’s Hymns, and a second act for the band that continues to this day.
