SUPER FURRY ANIMALS

I would suggest most bands of their caliber from the 90s dropped off equally. Don't much care for blur's think tank and I thought the new one was completely terrible. Supergrass fell off hard.

Hell, all bands do. No one seems to get better with age.

Except Paul McCartney obviously

Yeah,but Wings have done nowt since he left them.

thankx 4 the reminders of what sux

Dark Days/Light Years - does not suck

RYM has DD/LY down as SFA's lowest rated LP.

On the other hand it's hangin' with their 2000-2003 albums on Metacritic.

So, the critics enjoyed it on their initial listens, but people disagreed with that initial assessment over time. Which is understandable, because it doesn't come remotely close to their 1994-2003 work.

I dunno - the only SFA record I can't get into is LoveKraft, and even that album I quite dig about 1/2 of. Still spinning the last 2 on a regular basis, and I rate both of them higher than Mwng and Guerilla.

Apparently 'Bing Bong' is out tomorrow.

Can't wait for Turrican to dismiss it. :)

I thought it was out next Friday?

Misread the tea leaves. Out the 15th. They're really hyping it up. Feels like an album is on the horizon.

Starting to feel skeptical about a new album again:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ewd8gw

Cian Ciarán Presents: Rhys & Meinir
For 20 years and counting a member of Super Furry Animals, Cian Ciarán comes together with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales to tell a traditional Welsh fable in music. The world premiere performance of a work that has been almost two-decades in development, Cian Ciarán’s first orchestral piece Rhys & Meinir promises a rare, aural experience that encapsulates the drama of ancient Welsh folklore, the envisioned splendour of rural Wales and the innate, musical curiosity of the intrepid composer.
Rhys and Meinir found love in the village of Nant Gwrtheyrn, North Wales and their childhood romance blossomed for all to see. On the day of their marriage, Meinir is nowhere to be found and the mystery leads Rhys into months of despair. When finally a thunder strike reveals Meinir’s final hiding place, Rhys is unable to live a second longer.

Out in two days.

http://i.imgur.com/6yf5Z4p.jpg

They're releasing it on Strangetown, so they're self-releasing it.

will be interesting to read about how bad this is over every alternate post for the remainder of the thread

You never told me which Gorky's cover you did. I'm curious. :)

It's up on Amazon

On Spotify as well if you're in the uK.

I'm not.

Oh, I thought you meant the Gorky's cover was on spotify

Nah. That's on bandcamp for free.

Well, this sounds exactly like you'd expect it to based on the name.

I don't know.

At least it's like a special occasion single.

It doesn't sound like anything else they've done at least.

Well, it's better than the Manics one at least

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqXpWvEW3ZU

this might be predictable, but I think...I think that I love it. Guto drives it home.

Finally got around to listening to it. On the plus side, the production is great... really full sounding and full of neat production touches. On the flip side, the song is terrible and has quite possibly the most irritating chorus to ever grace an SFA song. I can see why it stayed in the vaults.

I like this NME review:

http://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/super-furry-animals-have-terrible-timing-but-their-comeback-single-is-brilliant?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

The Krautrock-influenced track begins with vocodered vocals, a ticking beat and pulsating bass, an update of the beatier side of the Furries’ work that, you feel, shows they had more in league with the likes of LCD Soundsystem than they were given credit for. It’s a bonkers track, of course, which is absolutely apt for a band that always had a strong sense of the surreal and – crucially – it taps into an ineffable something that frontman Gruff Rhys is incapable of connecting with in his varied solo work.

Pure fun. I'm going to go insane if I don't get the 'bings' and 'bongs' out of my head by Monday though.

At least one thing that came out of this was that it got me listening to American Interior again. While I found it as patchy as ever and still the weakest of all Gruff's solo albums, 'The Last Conquistador' really caught my ear this time around. "What a lovely song with a beautiful chorus," I thought to myself while the track was playing. "Shame the dumb and rough production doesn't bring the best out of it. Maybe if he'd done something like this with SFA and given it an on-point production job, instead of SFA giving the production works to slight tracks like 'Lazer Beam', 'Moped Eyes' and 'Bing Bong', they might be onto something."

Then I realised I had, in fact, described their work from 1997-2003. Yes, I know 'Bing Bong' has been around since the tail-end of Phantom Power going into Songbook, but if they'd released it at the time then, christ, say hello to B-side status.

All I can say is thank christ my expectations for this lowered as much as possible during their hiatus, because if they had been through the roof I'd be even less impressed than I am now!

I can only imagine how the hardcore must have dealt with this though, working themselves up into a frenzy over the last seven years for this. This piece of novelty fluff must seem like the best thing ever... for now. I can only liken the hype, build, reveal and fan reaction to settling down with a skin flick, only to find someone has taped a documentary about Thatcher over the end, but still carrying on regardless.

An album could be good, though, if they write some decent songs.

I think it's the perfect antidote to the po-faced social media theatrics bands like Radioheaf engage in these days to promote their "serious," big event albums.

You have a band that's been split up for seven years, their longest break ever, and they're here to sing a song called "Bing Bong" with a ridiculous, possibly annoying, chorus over a disco bassline. Gruff even called the song "idiot disco" in a recent interview. They're just having a laugh. Maybe it's time to take a chill pill, relax and Bing along to the Bong?

An even better idea would be to listen to something else, in all honesty.

Are we really going to kill them for a single track? Or do we just want to kill them for the sake of it?

There's a lot of it about.

Actually, it's neither. After the substandard Dark Days/Light Years and a seven year hiatus filled with solo projects that range from the passable (American Interior) to the awful (Praxis Makes Perfect, Pale Blue Dots), I was beginning to think that maybe their best work was behind them, but given that we've mostly had solo releases for the last seven years, I was still holding out to see whether a new SFA track would be any good, as they've always been stronger collectively than individually.

What they've delivered after their long lay-off is without a doubt to me one of their worst ever singles, down at the bottom of the pile with 'Lazer Beam', 'Inaugural Trams', 'Mt.' etc.

SFA at their peak were capable of creating songs that, when you scratched below the sometimes cartoony surface, actually had some meaning. Now we've got songs about chins, one-idea songs about nothing ('Moped Eyes') and novelty songs that have choruses that go "BING BONG BING BONG BING BONG BING BING BING BONG BING BONG BING BONG", which is so utterly irritating and stupid (in a bad way) that it made for a very trying experience, and has left me even less convinced than I was before that this band have anything left to give. I'm convinced they're spent and their best work is behind them. I'm sure an album could be good if they write some decent songs, but based on recent form I'm not optimistic at all. Their classic work has held up astoundingly well, though, and I'll always have time for those records.

At this point, though, it's goodnight from me - this is where it ends.

Turrican, I get why you might feel a little betrayed but I think AFP is right. Right down to the title, this is like McCartney's "Bip Bop" but with a better groove – a willfully silly, stupid bit of unpretentious fun that is perhaps notable for stupidity.

I will bet money that both you will give this next record a chance (assuming there is one?) and that you will find more to like about it than this. You can't quit the Furries!

(even if they may be trying to make you)

Eh, if this was some kind of knee-jerk/rash decision I'd probably agree with you, but to be really honest my enthusiasm for this band has been cooling a fair bit for a number of years now. It's not like I've suddenly decided to no longer follow this band overnight, it's definitely been more of a gradual thing and this was just the clincher, as it were, the moment of ultimate confirmation to myself that I'm done. It's not a big deal - I'm sure they'll always be making music for those that want to hear it, and I still have the old records if I want to reminisce which still remain remarkably as potent as ever, not to mention there's like a zillion other bands out there, so it's not like I'm going to be stuck for something to listen to. It's not the first time I've reached this point with a band, and it certainly won't be the last, although in this case it's kinda notable because I was a massive fan of this band for near enough a couple of decades, rather than like with a lot of bands where I lose interest after a couple of records. But yeah - finally, definitively, conclusively - I'm done. I'm out.

He's got off the bus, you guys.

turrican really wants me to feel dumb for genuinely thinking Dark Days/Light Years is a good album. I'll concede Hey Venus! isn't the world's most essential album, though I think it's enjoyable, but man, I really like DD/LY. I still listen to it. I think 'Moped Eyes' is a great jam and I love 'Inaugural Trams.'

Come to think of it, the new song does kind of sound a bit like 'Inaugural Trams.'

yeah, I also think DD/LY is way better than the two albums preceding it. Second half of that album is up there with the best things SFA have done.

Dark Days / Light Years was, to my ears, a bona fide return to form, the first SFA album I really enjoyed since Guerila, probably.

SFA have never even come close to making a bad album.

Yeah, I like Dark Days/Light Years too. I think it's way more consistent than the three albums that came before it.

Eh, if you guys enjoy Dark Days/Light Years then fair enough. Indulge yourselves, fill your boots, enjoy away, and certainly don't feel dumb for listening to a record you clearly get a lot of pleasure out of. Same applies to the solo work they've put out during their hiatus. It's already been more than well documented what I think about all that stuff, so I'm not going to (and can't be bothered to) repeat my thoughts on it for the umpteenth time - that would just be utterly boring for everyone, and I can't summon up the enthusiasm to have a debate on the record either way at this stage. It just doesn't matter to me anymore. Like I said, I'm sure they'll still be making music for those that want to hear it. If you're one of those people, then great. I'm not.

I think I could make a pretty decent mix of the best stuff on all the solo/side albums. Just sayin'.

I haven't listened to all their solo projects but I've really enjoyed the last three Gruff albums, especially Candylion. Love the first Neon Neon album too.

It's already been more than well documented what I think about all that stuff, so I'm not going to (and can't be bothered to) repeat my thoughts on it for the umpteenth time - that would just be utterly boring for everyone

― Turrican

Any chance you can apply this to your thoughts on The 1975 too?

Gulp's Season Sun is probably the most successful of the non-Gruff side/solo material in the sense that you probably don't need to like SFA to enjoy the albuml. They're Guto's band, with his wife on synth and vocals. I think he might actually sing vocals on one song, a duet, which is interesting since he's the only SFA that doesn't sing.. Album is on Spotify.

x-post to KP:

Don't be stupid! :D

SFA's will be back on the road in UK & Ireland this winter for the Fuzzy Logic / Radiator tour, performing their debut album and its follow up, in full, in order and back-to-back!
The band are also set to reissue their indefinable debut, Fuzzy Logic and issuing a rarity-laden ‘ZOOM, The Best of Super Furry Animals 1995-2016' on Friday 4 November 2016.
Fuzzy Logic / Radiator Tour Tickets:
-Fan pre-sale goes live 9am Wednesday 10th August.
-General sale kicks off 9am Friday 12th August.
Join the SFA mailing list by 5pm (UK time) on Tuesday 9th to get exclusive first access to the fan pre-sale: http://www.superfurry.com/tickets
Dates:
Wed 30 Nov - Belfast, Limelight
Thu 1 Dec - Dublin, Olympia
Sun 4 Dec - Norwich, UEA
Tue 6 Dec - Bristol, 02 Academy
Wed 7 Dec - Bournemouth, 02 Academy
Thu 8 Dec - London, Roundhouse
Fri 9 Dec - London, Roundhouse
Sat 10 Dec - Birmingham, 02 Academy
Mon 12 Dec - Edinburgh, Usher Hall
Tue 13 Dec - Brighton, Dome
Thu 15 Dec - Leeds, 02 Academy
Fri 16 Dec - Nottingham, Rock City
Sat 17 Dec - Cardiff, Motorpoint Arena