I want everyone to know that Gruff Rhys (pronounced GRIFF REESE) ended his American tour the other day. That isn't interesting, but he never came close to Austin. No Texas dates--no Southern dates. Nothing. He almost came to Mexico City, but apparently Mexico didn't care too much either.

It's a shame, really. Superlative upon superlative is heaped on his band, Super Furry Animals, who've continued to operate right on the fringe of mainstream success. So when I realize Gruff Rhys matters so little to Americans and probably everyone else in the world, it makes me sad--really, really sad.

I've seen him live three times: two times during last year's SXSW and in London over the summer. His performance is like nothing else. It's fun, it's innovative, and he's really, really funny. I'm pretty sure I smiled during and after each of his shows for hours. His London show felt--in my useless opinion--transcendental. Instead of only appearing on stage with his musical companion Lisa Jen (of Welsh folk band 9Bach), he was accompanied by a full band and guests like long-time Super Furry Animals artist Peter Fowler on the oscillator. Set closer "Skylon!" was transcendental. A self-indulgent, 20-minute droning folk song built on two chords was turned into an explosive live experience.

He manipulates junk, toys, samplers and uses his unique voice and sense of humor to elevate deceptively simple songs into something special.

His debut album, Yr Atal Genhedlaeth/The Stuttering Generation, is an experiment in a raw sound Super Furry Animals have continued to move away from. It's also one of the decade's best albums and better than SFA's last two misfires. The shift from the overindulgent Rings Around the World to the stripped-down, all-Welsh album is jarring, but the product allows us to understand the method behind Gruff's songwriting.

His second LP, Candylion, came out earlier this year. It's pretty good, but feels more like a minor Super Furry Animals album. He supplants simplicity with string arrangements provided by regular SFA collaborator Sean O'Hagan of the High Llamas and Lisa Jen's vocal accompaniment. It's worth a listen, though, as it's better than SFA's second disappointing LP, Hey Venus! (please note that Hey Venus! is a solid release and also worth your time), and also one of the year's best releases.

Some links of interest: http://www.kvrx.org/locallive/performance.php?pid=...

A short set he did for KVRX during SFA's Phantom Power tour. Those are all SFA songs.

And a snippet of his live "Skylon!": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuPTGpaBftc