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Nov 09, 2010 Gruff Rhys By Lauren Barbato

You never know what to expect from Super Furry Animals and Neon Neon frontman Gruff Rhys, whether it’s an album written entirely in Welsh (2005’s Yr Atal Genhedlaeth) or equipped with 96” cardboard sheets to make your own “candylion” (2007’s Candylion). For Hotel Shampoo, his latest solo album that’s slated for a February 2011 release, Rhys has again taken his inspiration quite literally.

After 15 years of obsessively collecting those mini-shampoo bottles found in hotel bathrooms while on tour, Rhys has announced he’s putting his collection to zany use in promotion of his upcoming record. How? By building his own mini-hotel out of these mini-shampoo bottles, of course. According to Rhys, the Hotel Shampoo will take two days to construct; on the third day, he intends to sleep in it.

In addition to his arts and crafts side project, Rhys has also unveiled the cover art (see above) for Hotel Shampoo, which pairs each shampoo bottle with a song title from the record. The bright colors, bubble letters, and oddly-shaped figurines are sure to capture your attention, but for an easier-to-read version of the tracklist, check out the one we posted below. The album is scheduled for a U.K. release on Valentine’s Day (February 14, 2011); there’s no word on a U.S. release. Last week we posted the video for first single “Shark Ridden Waters,” which we also posted an MP3 of last month.

Hotel Shampoo:

1. Shark Ridden Waters
2. Honey All Over
3. Sensations In The Dark
4. Vitamin K
5. Take A Sentence
6. Conservation Conversation
7. Sophie Softly
8. Christopher Columbus
9. Space Dust
10. At The Heart Of Love
11. Patterns Of Power
12. If We Were Words (We Would Rhyme)
13. Rubble Rubble