SUPER FURRY ANIMALS

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

Some more info:

Super Furry Animals have announced they will play their landmark albums Fuzzy Logic and Radiator back-to-back this Christmas.

The UK tour will see the band play some of their biggest shows for years, playing two nights at The Roundhouse in London and finishing up with a homecoming show at the Cardiff Motorpoint Arena on Saturday, December 17.

The Welsh rock 'n' roll heroes will also re-release a re-mastered version of Fuzzy Logic in high definition, heavyweight vinyl, CD and digital formats, as well as a new greatest hits and rarities collection - ZOOM! The Best of Super Furry Animals, 1995-2016.

The album, released on Friday, November 4, has been re-mastered from the original tape reels. Fuzzy Logic, originally released in 1996 and featuring the top 20 hits, Something 4 The Weekend and If You Don’t Want Me to Destroy You, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.

It will also come with a bonus disc of essential tracks titled Lost On The Bypass Road, which has emerged from the deep well that is the Furries' archive.

Enlisting the help of Furries' official archivist Kliph Scurlock and mastering expert Donal Whelan, the recordings have been meticulously sonically rediscovered.

Amongst the last of the high-profile, truly analogue, albums to be produced in a pre-Pro Tools age, Fuzzy Logic has been re-mastered to capture the straight-to-tape ethos of their sessions at the legendary Rockfield Studios.

Laboratory conditions have been maintained for the development of a new CD and digital release, ZOOM! The Best of Super Furry Animals, 1995 - 2016, taking the highs of their chart-climbing singles and adding the promise of yet further, elevated experiences through selected album tracks, personal band favourites, B-sides and those that somehow strayed out of collective memory, only to be recently rediscovered.

Full track listings for all releases will be revealed shortly.

A band statement said: “We were a young family and found ourselves parents to two, boisterous albums, suddenly born between 1996 and 1997.

"It was our doing; we took full responsibility and endured the sleepless nights. The time goes so fast and they are all grown up now, old enough to be taken on the road again and let them stay up late.

"Before that excitement begins, we find ourselves rediscovering the thrilling alchemy found in the Fuzzy Logic vault and delve yet deeper to decide what makes the final ZOOM collection.”

I'm excited to see if there are any new rarities floating around .Remastered albums are usually pretty hit or miss. Radiator could definitely use remastering. I hope they're not just going to become a legacy act, though. I'm glad they've decided to do something new with their live shows. Their setlist has been static for so long.

Oh, for god's sake...

The only thing here that I'm remotely arsed about is the rarities collection, particularly if those rarities are from the 1994-2004 period when they were making their best music.

I'm not arsed about a new best-of collection (especially when Songbook does the job so well and doesn't contain any of the inevitable post-2004 filler) or to go and see 'em play Fuzzy Logic and Radiator with a fraction of the energy.

At least I can be thankful there's no 'Bing Bong II' on the cards.

They must really need the money.

I don't see why they can't just record another album.

Because it would be shite.

I'm not as pessimistic as you, but I'm definitely not listening to "Bing Bong" anymore :)

Have any Fuzzy Logic & Radiator songs never been played live? There are certainly more than a handful of songs that they haven't played in well over a decade. I can't remember seeing "Fuzzy Birds" on a setlist in years.

I also wonder if they'll dust off any b-sides. They did "Mrs. Spector" a couple times in 2007 or 2009.

Dude, it's 2016. There's a lot of songs they haven't played in well over a decade at this stage.

That's true.

I actually find the idea of them playing their first two albums refreshing. Less backing tracks, and no "Golden Retriever."

Hmm. I haven't been following SFA's recent live activity, but I know for a fact that these have all been performed live since the hiatus...

- God! Show Me Magic
- Something For The Weekend
- Hometown Unicorn
- If You Don't Want Me To Destroy You
- Bad Behaviour
- The International Language of Screaming
- Demons
- Mountain People

The following have been played live at least once since the Phantom Power era...

- Frisbee
- Gathering Moss
- Furryvision
- She's Got Spies
- Play It Cool
- Chupacabras
- Torra Fy Ngwallt Yn Hir
- Down a Different River
- Hermann Loves Pauline

'Fuzzy Birds', 'Mario Man', 'Hangin' With Howard Marks', 'Long Gone, 'For Now and Ever' all have been played live, but to my knowledge have never been played live since the Fuzzy Logic tour.

'Download' and 'The Placid Casual' have both been played live, but very, very rarely.

The following tracks have never been played live:

- Bass Tuned To D.E.A.D.
- Short Painkiller

But I wouldn't get your hopes up, because you know fine well it'll be all the Fuzzy Logic/Radiator tracks they've been playing anyway, plus 'Hermann Loves Pauline', 'Torra Fy Ngwallt Yn Hir', probably 'Down a Different River', and maybe 'Gathering Moss' ...

as for B-sides you might get 'Calimero', or 'Arnofio/Glo In The Dark' ...

... plus 'Slow Life', '(Drawing) Rings Around The World', 'Hello Sunshine', 'Juxtapozed With U', 'Golden Retriever' and 'The Man Don't Give a Fuck', because why break the habit of a lifetime.

It says they're playing both albums from start to finish. I don't know how they'll fit them all in, but that's the story as it goes.

I definitely have had my fill of the songs in the last line of your post.

The best way for them to do it, IMO, would be to play Fuzzy Logic (plus B-sides) one night and Radiator (plus B-sides) the next, but forgive me if I'm skeptical - there's been way too many times that an SFA gig has been advertised as being something outside of what they normally do, and ends up being the usual set.

Well, I bought a presale ticket to the Norwich gig. I'm still not sure how they're planning on playing two full albums back-to-back, but I don't want to miss out.

I wouldn't be surprised if they cheat and using backing tracks for the songs they probably don't even remember. That's the only thing I'm worried about. Based on recent interview, I know a couple of them barely even remember their own names.

I can believe that. I happened upon an SFA dressing room one time, back in the day. The fog of weed smoke was practically impenetrable.

both albums are only around 45 minutes long

I can believe that. I happened upon an SFA dressing room one time, back in the day. The fog of weed smoke was practically impenetrable.

I once partied down with them in their dressing room after a show. I've never seen so much weed in my life. Like, there were 4 or 5 mixing bowls filled with buds. There was also full-blown DJ setup and they were all taking turns throwing down on the decks.

It was a good night.

http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/super-furry-animals

DISC 1 – FUZZY LOGIC + B-SIDES
Fuzzy Logic (Original 1996 album – 2016 Remaster)
• God! Show Me Magic
• Fuzzy Birds
• Something 4 The Weekend
• Frisbee
• Hometown Unicorn
• Gathering Moss
• If You Don’t Want Me To Destroy You
• Bad Behaviour
• Mario Man
• Hangin’ With Howard Marks
• Long Gone
• For Now And Ever
B-Sides & Such (2016 Remaster)
• Lazy Life (Of No Fixed Identity)
• Don’t Be A Fool, Billy!
• Death By Melody
• Something For The Weekend
• Dim Bendith
• Waiting To Happen
• Arnofio / Glô In The Dark
• Guacamole
• The Man Don’t Give A Fuck
• (Nid) Hon Yw’r Gân Sy’n Mynd I Achub Yr Iaith

DISC 2 – LOST ON THE BYPASS ROAD
(Bonus tracks – previously unreleased apart from track 1)

Studio Demo Session, Summer 1995
• Frisbee
• Something For The Weekend
• Hangin’ With Howard Marks
• Sali Mali
Studio Demo Session, October 1995
• Bad Behaviour
• Lazy Life (Of No Fixed Identity)
• Mario Man
• Death By Melody
• Hometown Unicorn
• Waiting To Happen
• If You Don’t Want Me To Destroy You
• Gathering Moss
• The Man Don’t Give A Fuck
• Fuzzy Birds
• For Now And Ever
Live At The Phoenix Festival, 20th July 1996
• Frisbee
• Organ Yn Dy Geg
• Fix Idris
• Something For The Weekend
• Hometown Unicorn
• If You Don’t Want Me To Destroy You
• Focus Pocus/Debiel
• Bad Behaviour
• Mario Man
• God! Show Me Magic

Can't wait to hear the demos, but this MDGAF demo is horrendous:

https://soundcloud.com/salvolabel/the-man-dont-give-a-fuck-demo-session-october-1995?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=twitter

I guess that makes it even cooler since MDGAF rules.

i'm partial to these demos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lcY6kFwt94

particularly this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL0km3QzlAo

There's absolutely no way I'm buying this album again. The bonus material looks very unexciting, too.

I'm more interested in any possible outtakes/unreleased songs rather than demos. Although the live stuff should be fun to listen to.

Hey Gruff claims the remaster sounds completely new and that there's tons of differences with the original release. You know he's never prone to hyperbole..

Apart from when he described Hey Venus! as "speaker blowing", Dark Days/Light Years as "biblical" and 'Lliwiau Llachar' as sounding like The Who. I could go on - I won't. But yeah, I'll believe it when I hear it.

Gruff also says: "The reissue is radically different to the original, some songs have alternate beginnings and endings and people will notice the difference in definition, especially in high resolution digital and the new vinyl cut. 1995/6 was an overwhelming whirlwind of touring, gimmickry and mayhem for us so it's been a real treat to take some time to relive and reassess all these songs and compile everything that we recorded in that short, magical period in one place."

It's likely he's referring to the demos when he talks about alternate beginnings and endings.

Truth be told, I'll probably stream the demos once and stick with the original CD.

I have a confession.

I absolutely love 'Bing Bong.'

Had the best time ever dancing with my son to it yesterday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cmu6GYIHH6o

http://www.magnetmagazine.com/2016/10/10/magnet-classics-the-making-of-super-furry-animals-rings-around-the-world/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MagnetMagazine+%28Magnet+Magazine%29

Pretty interesting long article on Rings Around the World. Of course, this part intrigued me the most:

That lost outlier, Shaw remembers, was titled “Chihuahua”: “It was part of a long, extended jam that they did in the studio, almost like a dance track. Somebody hit upon the idea of getting a samba band on the record. Apparently, there’s a Welsh samba band somewhere, because we found them, and got them to the studio, but it just didn’t work out. Though we did get something out of it. A girl in the samba band played one of these huge, deep-sounding bass drums; Eric peeled it off of one of the recordings and turned it into an 808, and that wound up being the obnoxiously low bass tone that you hear—or, rather, feel, though only if you’ve got a big enough subwoofer—on (Ciarán’s Stooges-sampling trip-hop instrumental) ‘(A) Touch Sensitive.’ So, the samba band kinda made the record.”

That was a good read!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BMWruEyANF3/?taken-by=kliphscurlock

Radiator is getting remastered.

A vinyl reissue of Radiator would make me very very happy.

I know nothing about production, mastering or mixing, but is there any chance they'll be able to improve the sound of the bass on the record? The album's production has always made my ears feel very tired.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZY4HGiMdqE

A vinyl reissue of Radiator would make me very very happy.

― Kitchen Person, Thursday, November 3, 2016 11:45 AM

Fuzzy Logic remaster is out/on Spotify if you're curious

Single version of Something 4 The Weekend used instead of the album take. Actually don't mind this bit of revisionism

It was like that before iirc - I listened to the FL/Radiator version recently and that had the slower version, put it down to Sony/BMG slackness. It is a better version though it sounded weird in that context.

Am interested to compare this with the original but probably not enough to buy it. I've been happy with the way it's sounded for 20 years tbh.

Enjoyed that film, esp. Guto's look-to-camera as Gruff listed 23 coincidences. Bunf looks terrible though.

It's listed as 'U.S. Version' on Spotify, but it sounds like the same old UK single version to me. Did it go on all the US pressings then? That could explain why it ended up on the 2fer. The UK album version isn't anywhere to be found on the deluxe.

perhaps Bunf read this thread