Welsh band return with new EP after 7 year wait

Cardiff indie band Wigwam have released their brand new EP, ‘Paid â Gosod Larwm’ (Don’t Set an Alarm).

For the first time in 7 years, Wigwam are releasing an extended collection of music, one which shows the continued maturation and expansion of their sound.

Wigwam are a Welsh indie rock band from Cardiff. Originally forming at Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Plasmawr in order to play one concert, they composed a musical for the 2018 Cardiff National Eisteddfod.

Wigwam are: Daniel Jones (Drums), Griff Daniels (Bass / Vocals) and Gareth Scourfield (Guitar / Vocals).

They released their debut album, Coelcerth, in 2018, along with a follow-up single in 2019. They released three singles in 2023, but things have been quiet since – until now that is.

Over ‘Paid â Gosod Larwm’s five songs, the band explore the beauty in the mundane, dissecting moments of every day intimacy in our lives, both joyful and painful.

The title itself being the kind of utterance that occurs between bleary-eyed lovers at the end of a long night reflects their celebration of small intimacies, as does the EP artwork, featuring snapshots of friends collated from singer/guitarist Gareth Scourfield’s personal film archive.

Preceded by pedal steel-drenched twin singles ‘Cylched Yr Haul / Paid â Dod Nôl i Fi’, which serve as the opening two tracks of the EP, the rest of the collection stretches to the twin peaks of the spectrum of the band’s sound, from mellow to manic. ‘Hwiangerdd’ (Lullaby) is a soothing late-night ode to a friend fretting over their drunken antics, with an alt-folk sound reminiscent of Big Thief and Nick Drake, and a soaring melody that should pacify any listener.

Contrasting with the restrained nature of ‘Hwiangerdd’, ‘Calon Teflon’ (Teflon Heart) is an odyssey; a 6 minute dissection of a failing relationship, with the song’s subject desperately clinging onto moments of respite and joy in otherwise murky waters.

From an acoustic opening, the song slowly builds layers and tension throughout, until the floodgates open to release Radiohead-esque sonic chaos and pure emotion in the manner of Lucy Dacus and Phoebe Bridgers.

Closing the EP is ‘Tŷ Fi’ (My House), a sweet lo-fi coda to the collection, that, after the dramatics of ‘Calon Teflon’, cleanses the palette like Her Majesty at the end of Abbey Road. An endearing, simple song, featuring simply Gareth Scourfield on piano and bassist Griff Daniels on vocals, it reflects the honest and open-hearted songwriting of Labi Siffre or Jackson Browne.

Produced by Tom Roberts (Showdogs) and mastered by Tom Rees (Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard) and Eddie Al Shakarchi, the EP sees the band at their most playful and melodically imaginative. Lead guitar work from Gav Owen (Half Happy, Heartpiece) keeps the wheels rolling, constantly flitting between slacker indie, countrygaze and power-pop.

Wigwam will celebrate the release of the EP with a Christmas launch gig at The Canopi in Cardiff on 19 December, and their live show promises to be as expansive and fun as their new music.

Listen to the new EP from Wigwam on Spotify and all other streaming services.