Hotel Shampoo

2011 studio album by Gruff Rhys

Hotel Shampoo

Studio album by

Gruff Rhys

Released

14 February 2011

Recorded

Recorded for the most part at OFN, Llanfaelog, Wales 2010^{[citation needed]}

Genre

Alternative rock

Length

40:16

Label

Ovni Records/Turnstile (UK), Wichita (US), Hostess Entertainment Unlimited (JP)

Producer

Gorwel Owen, Gruff Rhys, Andy Votel

Gruff Rhys chronology

Candylion
(2007)

Hotel Shampoo
(2011)

American Interior
(2014)

Singles from Hotel Shampoo

"Shark Ridden Waters" b/w "I Totally Understand"
Released: October 2010
"Sensations In The Dark" b/w "Follow The Sunflower Trail (Theme Tune For a National Strike)"
Released: February 2011
"Honey All Over" b/w "Xenodocheionology"
Released: May 2011
"Space Dust #2" b/w "Whale Trail"
Released: October 2011

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	74/100^[2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[4]
Drowned In Sound	^[1]
The Independent	^[3]

Hotel Shampoo is the third solo album by Welsh musician and Super Furry Animals front-man Gruff Rhys. It was released on 14 February 2011 through Onvi Records/Turnstile (in the UK) and Wichita (in the US) and peaked at number forty-two on the UK Albums Chart. The album includes the singles "Shark Ridden Waters", "Sensations In The Dark", "Honey All Over" and "Space Dust #2"; the latter of which is collaboration with Sarah Assbring and Miles Kane. The album won the 2011 Welsh Music Prize and the Album of the Year award at the Artrocker Awards 2011.

The title of the record is a reference to Gruff’s habit of hoarding mini shampoo bottles and other complimentary hotel products whilst on tour, and the miniature hotel he built from them in advance of the record's announcement.

Samples

The track "Shark Ridden Waters" is built around a sample of "It Doesn't Matter Anymore", as performed by The Cyrkle.^[5]

Track listing

*Floor 1*
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Shark Ridden Waters"	4:25
2.	"Honey All Over"	3:18
3.	"Sensations In The Dark"	2:42
4.	"Vitamin K"	3:06
5.	"Take a Sentence"	3:05
6.	"Conservation Conversation"	2:40
7.	"Sophie Softly"	2:11

*Floor 2*
No.	Title	Length
8.	"Christopher Columbus"	3:33
9.	"Space Dust #2"	2:20
10.	"At The Heart Of Love"	3:34
11.	"Patterns of Power"	3:37
12.	"If We Were Words (We Would Rhyme)"	3:13
13.	"Rubble Rubble"	2:53

International bonus tracks (Floor 3)

14. "I Totally Understand" - 3:40 (US, Japan and Taiwan) 15. "Follow The Sunflower Trail (Theme Tune For A National Strike)" - 4:12 (US and Japan) 16. "Pengwyn Pengwyn" - 1:34 (Taiwan)

Personnel

Musician credits

Gruff Rhys – Guitars, Vocals, Vibraphone, Moog, Korg and Solina Synthesizers
Gorwel Owen – Piano, Moog, Banjo, Jupiter and Stylophone
Owen Evans – Bass
Chris Walmsley – Drums
Sean O'Hagan – String Arrangements (4, 5, 9, 10)
Marcus Holdaway – Cello (4, 5, 9, 10)
Elspeth Cowey – Violin (4, 5, 9, 10)
Morven Bryce – Violin (4, 5, 9, 10)
Harriet Davies – Violin (4, 5, 9, 10)
John Thomas – Pedal Steel (12)
Andrew Kinsman – Saxophone (4, 11)
Gary Alesbrook – Trumpet (5, 10, 11)
El Perro del Mar (Sarah Assbring) – Vocals (9)
Miles Kane – Guitar (9)
Danny Frankel – Percussion (3)
David Ralicke – Brass (3)

Technical credits

Gruff Rhys and Gorwel Owen – Recording (at OFN, Llanfaelog, Wales)
Craig Silvey – Recording (Drums)
Mark Allway – Recording Assistant (Drums)
Joe Watson – Recording (Strings) (at Press Play Studios, London)
John Thomas – Recording (Brass) (at Buffalo Sound Recorder, Cardiff)
David Wrench – Recording (Additional Piano) (at Bryn Derwen, Bethesda)
Andy Votel – Recording (in Manchester) (1, 8)
Gaz Sironical – Recording Assistant (in Manchester) (1, 8)
Mario Caldato, Jr. – Mixing, Additional Overdubs (at MCJ, Los Angeles)
Bernie Grundman – Mastering (at Bernie Grundman Mastering, Los Angeles)
Pete Fowler – Artwork
Mark James – Photography

Charts

Chart	Peak
UK Albums Chart^[6]	42

References

^ Lavery, Aaron (9 February 2011). "Gruff Rhys - Hotel Shampoo / Releases / Releases // Drowned In Sound". Drownedinsound.com. Archived from the original on 2 December 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
^ "Hotel Shampoo - Gruff Rhys". metacritic.com. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
^ Andy Gill (11 February 2011). "Album: Gruff Rhys, Hotel Shampoo (Ovni (Turnstile)) - Reviews - Music". The Independent. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
^ Hotel Shampoo (Review) at AllMusic. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
^ Marie Wood (1 March 2011). "DiS meets Gruff Rhys". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 5 March 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
^ "GRUFF RHYS | Artist". Official Charts. Retrieved 13 August 2014.