Having heard and seen endless praise thrown in their direction, I found myself in Narberth’s famous Queen’s Hall, which over the years has played host to many legendary acts, to see the blossoming Adwaith.
This delightful post punk band from Carmarthen have had quite the year in 2022, from opening for IDLES in the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, releasing their second album Bato Mato, as well as playing Glastonbury on the BBC Introducing Stage. So, a small show in Narberth would clearly be no problem for a band who clearly has their sights set much further afield than a quiet town in Pembrokeshire.
Opening with the opening track from their newest album, the band immediately made their impact with ‘Cuddio’, an intriguing track which gripped the audience from the start. In fact, the audience, including myself, was attentive the entire way through their show, and as someone who has unfortunately lost a lot of their knowledge of the Welsh language, I still found myself captivated by the delivery of each song.
Other noticeable songs in their set included ‘Sudd’ and ‘Wedi Blino’, which despite being tired by name, featured a gorgeous riff that brought the entire room to life. One thing that was clear throughout the show that Adwaith is a band who very much enjoy playing with one another, whilst loose microphone stands and some very bright lighting tried their best to disrupt their groove, each mishap was taking completely in their stride, and their energy translated well not only through their music, but also their stage presence too.
Their set came to a conclusion with the sounds of ‘Nid Aur’ and ‘Eto’, two tracks that in my opinion are Adwaith at their very best, and as the last notes of the latter song rang out across the hall, the band’s departure from the stage was met with applause and some very apt calls of “Eto!” from the crowd for just one more song, which unfortunately never came to fruition.
However, it was very obvious to see the impact that this trio had made upon the crowd, and as this show ended, it was hard for the mind not to wonder about where Adwaith will conquer next!
