In this second album post-Super Furry Animals, Rhys rips open the dismal clouds of January to beam down the quirksome Candylion. With SFA s rich psyche-folk back catalogue, the challenge for Rhys now is not so much maintaining the standard, but surprising

In this second album post-Super Furry Animals, Rhys rips open the dismal clouds of January to beam down the quirksome Candylion.

With SFA's rich psyche-folk back catalogue, the challenge for Rhys now is not so much maintaining the standard, but surprising us with new meanders off the beaten musical path.

Candylion is a calmer offering than Rhys' band days, the title track a sweet, xylophone-dusted foot-tapper about a lion in the kingdom of candy.

There are still flashes of off-radar quirkiness, such as Skylon! the 15-minute meditation on an aeroplane hijacking, but overall the pop hooks on this lion's claws aren't as sharp as they could have been. 3/5