SUPER FURRY ANIMALS

The Howard Marks event has an amazing cast list now: John Cooper Clarke, Cerys Mathews, Gruff Rhys, Alabama 3, Don Letts as well now.

the whole of Sfa will be there, aside from Guto. I'd expect some kind of sfa set if it weren't for that. Of course they'd be extremely out of practice. There's some good stuff on the band's relationship with Howard Marks on the new biography.

So the book came out today.

It also got a 3/10 from the NME.

http://www.nme.com/reviews/super-furry-animals/15939?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=superfurries

I don't think it's bad at all. It isn't definitive and I would've loved to have read more about their songwriting and production process, but I don't know there's anyone out there that's interested in telling that story.

I bought it as an ebook but haven't finished it. There is something very flat about the writing style which deadens the interest for me.

In case interested, apprently SFA & Rhys Ifans are playing from 11.30 - 12.30 on the 27th.

From what I understood, SFA can't play because Guto is currently touring with H. Hawkline. All the associated acts are playing, however. Maybe I'm out of the loop, though. I'm sure it wouldn't be terribly hard to get Guto there.

Hmm...I just saw what you're talking about. I wonder if it could be. How I wish I could go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLSOz5cI1H0

Well interestingly enough, someone uncovered that they're listed as an artist on Domino. The author of the bio also hinted at more SFA activity this year, though he excluded a reunion. My guess: reissues or a film.

They're definitely getting at something...

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B-n6yNQUsAAlf8S.jpg

someone just posted this on another forum:
http://www.dominorecordco.com/artists/super-furry-animals/

I was thinking it seems a little soon for reissues, but I guess that nice batch of 2-disc reissues was a decade ago now. I could do with nice reissues of the last four albums though.

did those reissue just get released with no fanfare, reviews etc? don't remember hearing anything about them at the time

I think they were only American reissues, since we never got some of those early albums as non-imports. I remember, at the very least, Pitchfork doing some reviews at the time. They all came out in a fairly short span in like 2005-2006.

Here's the Pitchfork review from June of 2005:

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11835-fuzzy-logic-radiator-out-spaced-guerilla-mwng/

yeah reissues would be cool

Sony released the two discs in the U.S.

Research and sleuthing has led some people to find Domino has SFA listed as a current act, so I'm hopeful.

Vinyl reissues would be nice. I'm still missing Out Spaced and Rings but I refuse to pay upwards of $100 for them.

didn't some of them have "secret singles" stashed in the gatefold?

Yeah, they are v.pricey. I have "Guerilla" on constant "tell me" on various sites, but it's always £60 or more.

I believe RAtW has a 7" hidden within. If I'm not mistaken, it's an endless loop of something or other.

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

Announcement 10am (UK) tomorrow

Would love the announcement to be a new album but I think I'd rather have vinyl reissues of their albums instead. Have been looking for them over the last couple of years and haven't seen them ever come up for reasonable prices.

The wheeling out of the old logo etc suggests reissues to me.

If reissues, I hope for no play from center outward stuff bc replacement stylus is expensive.

Radiator gig/tour? Just playing a festival? Would prefer a new album recorded in secret, as is all the rage these days

didn't some of them have "secret singles" stashed in the gatefold?

― Mark G, Wednesday, February 25, 2015 1:58 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Rings Around The World does, it has a white label 7" which plays on a loop. Third side ('Miniature', 'No Sympathy', 'Juxtapozed With U') plays from the label outwards.

Phantom Power is a double vinyl album that only has three sides; the fourth side has no music on it and is unplayable (it does have a pretty neat etching of the cover art on it, though). Mwng is on white vinyl, Dark Days/Light Years is a double album that (if I remember correctly, because I've very rarely played these albums on vinyl) plays at 45rpm.

Radiator and Guerrilla are both double albums (on vinyl) and Guerrilla has a "pop up" gatefold. Love Kraft is a double too and its nice to have the enlarged artwork. Nothing spectacular about Hey Venus! on vinyl, except for that its short length actually suits the vinyl format.

So the book came out today.

It also got a 3/10 from the NME.

― afriendlypioneer, Thursday, February 19, 2015 9:23 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I haven't read it in full yet. I don't really wanna criticise it too harshly, because it's great that there's at least a book out there on this band, but I definitely think it's not the book that could have been written.

As for the speculation over whether there's going to be a new SFA album, I've said this before and I'll say it again: the only way that I'm ever going to be convinced that a new SFA album is on its way is if they actually come out and say "we have a new album coming out". All of these videos they're posting could mean anything, really. It's the 20th anniversary of their first EP this year, come to think of it. 10 years since Love Kraft later in the year.

They're announcing it tomorrow at 10AM

Adam Walton @adamwalton · 4h 4 hours ago
Very excited about the riddle that will be solved tomorrow. Few things are worth waiting years for, but this will deffo be one of them.

It must be a tour or a new album. What else could it be?

Well, holy shit have I just made an interesting discovery! I've suddenly went from being incredibly skeptical to actually thinking there may be a new tour or album on the way(!)

It must be a tour or a new album. What else could it be?

― Kitchen Person, Friday, February 27, 2015 3:46 AM (50 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Hmm. Well if it's not an SFA tour, an SFA gig, or a new SFA album, all of which I'm beginning to think it possibly could be, then what else could possibly involve all of the members of SFA but not be SFA, which it could also be?

I'm gonna laugh if they all turn up at the press conference, Gruff says "we're breaking up" and they all just walk off in unison.

I'm gonna laugh if they all turn up at the press conference, Gruff says "we're breaking up" and they all just walk off in unison.

― Simon H., Friday, February 27, 2015 5:04 AM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I guess this is also a possibility! But no, I really do think something is genuinely happening... can't wait to see exactly what it is, though!

I mean there must be a reason why the official site has suddenly had a change in layout after having that Hey Venus! type of layout for the last few years, right? :P

http://www.superfurry.com/

and seasoned SFA fans will know that they don't usually put an effort into doing such things unless something is going on!

Didn't DD/LY get announced right before it came out?

They announced they were working on Dark Days/Light Years at the very end of January '09, which was when they revealed the initial tracklisting, then they had short films on the website with footage of them working on the album for a few days, then they did that webcast playing the album live in full on March 16th '09, and released the album pretty much straight away after the webcast was finished.

It doesn't appear we've ever done a proper SFA album poll. Can this be?

From what I've heard it appears to be a new album/tour.

A reissue announcement is going to be a massive damp squib at this point.

Guy who loved Fuzzy Logic listens to Radiator for the first time:

http://ramalbumclub.com/post/111971027654/week-7-bonus-radiator-by-super-furry-animals

It doesn't appear we've ever done a proper SFA album poll. Can this be?

― Simon H., Friday, February 27, 2015 8:25 AM (10 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Super Furriest album poll

A reissue announcement is going to be a massive damp squib at this point.

― groovypanda, Friday, February 27, 2015 8:30 AM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah, you're telling me, especially since for the first time in ages I'm actually genuinely believing that something is going to happen!

‏@BethanElfyn 2m
10am announcement on #SFA2015 @superfurry - watch the skies!

Only an hour to go before we find out what the hell this is all about...

...anyone excited? I honestly, genuinely never thought I would be, yet here I am waiting in anticipation. Christ!

I'm in Cardiff so will be looking out the window for any Aphex style shenanigans

Just noticed this video so I expect that explains the "watch the skies" comment:

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

Hang on, doesn't that mean "the bear wakes up from hibernation" or something?