Super Furry Animals
are a great band, and I was hugely excited when we got this album that I knew a bit. They've always struck me as a good summer band, as they're too in your face to enjoy on a cold winter's trudge to work.
The band hail from Cardiff, and are pop-rock with a liberal dash of
psychedelia, and a powerful lead singer in Gruff Rhys, a name I struggle not to
append with Jones. The group formed in 1993, originally with now actor Rhys
Ifans as part of the line-up, and were initially a techno group. The depth and variety of sound effects in their music, alongside the strong sense of rhythm gives this away a bit. They were
signed to Creation Records in 1995 following a performance at Camden's Monarch,
the very venue I was at last night, and round the corner from my home. They are
still going now, with the same line-up (Ifans aside) which is pretty
impressive.
God! Show Me Magic
is a rip-roarer of an opener, and introduces the band's debut as a an energetic
bundle of fun. Unashamedly pop-focused but with a strong element of
psychedelia, it is a strong start. Fuzzy Birds has a decent enough chorus, and
is very catchy, but it goes through the motions a bit. That could not be the
case on something 4 the Weekend, which is excellent. It is one of the few
tracks with a decent set of verses, and a guitar sound the punctuates them
perfectly. The chorus is proper festival fodder, with an epic
singalong-lighters-aloft swagger about it. Homewtown Unicorn is another belter,
with great harmonies on the vocals, and a very Graham Coxony guitar solo. It
goes downhill a bit after this though. Whilst foot-stomping chroruses, phased
guitars and squeeally electronics, are all good fun, they can mask the slight
shallowness of some of the songs. Bad Behaviour is enjoyable enough, but can't
quite pull off its repetition. Mario man is another song which is all swirling
noises and psychedelic influences and some clever lyrics, but there isn't
enough of a song about it. I'm all for experimentation in music, but something
that would work live doesn't always transfer well to the studio. If You Don't
Want Me to Destroy You has a delicate yet powerful chorus that works well, and
Hangin' With Howard Marks (whose face adorns the album cover) has a cracking
riff, but doesn't do enough with it. Long Gone is a track I sometimes really
enjoy, and sometimes it just ends up washing over me.
I was pleased to see
that Super Furry Animals had another album in the book, as I don't think that
this is their greatest work, but I was gutted that it wasn't Radiator. As much
as I've enjoyed this album, it just isn't as good as Radiator, and so that leaves
a tinge of disappointment when listening to it. It's like being offered a meal
at the Ivy, and then it being full booked, so you have to settle for the
Italian place round the corner. The food will be very nice, but it just won't
taste as good because you're not at the Ivy, you're at Gianluca's. So a good
album, but it just hints at how good they really can be. If you want to know
the answer to that, go and listen to Radiator.
Chloe's rating: 6
Chloe's favourite
track: 3. Something 4 the Weekend
Olly's rating: 6
Olly's favourite
track: 3. Something 4 the Weekend
Next week's album is
419. The Cars with their self-titled debut from 1978. No, it doesn't have Drive
on it. Yes, I was gutted to find that out too.
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