SUPER FURRY ANIMALS

Love Kraft has always been my favourite SFA album, I suspect I might be alone in that. It gives off such a warm and quirky lovely vibe.

My 2-year old daughter recently wanted to listen to Phantom Power 1-3 times a day for over a month (it's now gradually being replaced by other albums, including Gruff's Candylion).
Even though it got overplayed, I did get to give it proper attention which I never gave it before, and actually got to appreciate it more and more. It's a truly fantastic album, which I think would also benefit from removing a few tracks - IMO Venus & Serena, Bleed Forever, Valet Parking could all go, leaving their best album.
Slow Life is probably their masterpiece.

I've never been very impressed by Dark Days/Light Years. Hey Venus! has extremely strong moments and is a highly enjoyable listen, but there's a little too much repetition within songs on that album for my liking to rank it among their best.

I wouldn't change a thing about Phantom Power and as you said, it contains probably their best ever track in 'Slow Life', which would have made for a great swan song. In hindsight, their last truly great album before it all went tits up.

Phantom Power is 15 years old, come to think of it!

Occassionaly I don't mind any of those three songs I mentioned at all, but other times I find them whiny or annoying. Valet Parking might maybe have been better as a fun strong B-side than as a relatively weak album track.
I do think that Phantom Power suffers a bit from some pacing issues - too much slow stuff in succession.

As I adore Love Kraft I can't really agree to the 'last great album' thing, but my patience for them does decrease after that and I am really hoping for them to return some day with a quality comeback album.

"Slow Life" is the closing track on their "Greatest Hits Vol 1"

They could compile a Vol 2 by now, but, well...

Just checked - it's not the closer. Whatevs.

I do think that Phantom Power suffers a bit from some pacing issues - too much slow stuff in succession.

I couldn't disagree more, and it's strange you say this of Phantom Power when Love Kraft is sluggish from beginning to end.

honestly I think all the albums up to Kraft are almost front to back great, and only the last two are significantly patchy. LK does have a few duff tracks but as Valentijn says the persistent warmth and lushness makes up for it.

if we do a poll we better get at least 30 track slots

I couldn't disagree more, and it's strange you say this of Phantom Power when Love Kraft is sluggish from beginning to end.

Love Kraft honestly always gave off more variation to me throughout.
I found Phantom Power a bit difficult to warm to as tracks 4 and 5 are slow (gorgeous, though!), followed by Venus and Serena which tries to get some energy in but ends up as a bit of a drag for me, then it slows down again with an instrumental and Bleed Forever (which, as I said, I occassionally find a bit too whiny).
I have to say I used to have more problems with Phantom Power than I do now, it just took me a long time -and the help of my 2-year old- to really get into it. I certainly consider it one of their best now! Perhaps 1-3 tracks too many but I don't truly dislike those either.

I saw your older post on Love Kraft, it's funny to me how much you dismiss that album while otherwise my overall album ranking would be fairly similar to yours.

Sometimes their stuff works for me the one time, then not at all the other time, then it does the trick again later. With Radiator, I loved it when it came out, then somehow got annoyed with it and disliked it for years, then revisited it and found myself loving it again and thinking of it as possibly their best.

Actually, I think my SFA album ranking would be exactly the same as the one you (Turrican) posted three years ago, except with Love Kraft moved from the bottom to the top!

(Which would be:
Love Kraft
Radiator
Phantom Power
Rings Around The World
Mwng
Guerrilla
Fuzzy Logic
Hey Venus!
Dark Days/Light Years )

Hey Venus! might climb the ladder if I would listen to it some more. The presence of Slow Life on the latter may mean that Radiator and Phantom Power should switch places.

Love Kraft doesn't really feel like a "warm" record to me - I don't get any kind of emotional warmth out of it, and it doesn't strike me as being a sunny kind of record. It feels more like a night time record, but the kind of night where you're tired and can't sleep because it's too hot and the air conditioning is fucked.

if we do a poll we better get at least 30 track slots

― Simon H., Tuesday, April 17, 2018 1:04 PM (fifteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yes - a 25 song ballot would be too brutal.

I know people love the early stuff but the "huge recording budgets" middle period (RATW->LK) is the real business for me. Lots of great b-sides too. I even like some of the Phantom Phorce remixes.

I partly agree - I love how they took the money that Sony were throwing at them and using it to make these intricately produced, well presented records and investing in neat ideas like the surround sound editions of the albums etc. The earlier stuff showed they could be very creative without the huge recording budgets, though, and without sacrificing the songwriting, which to me is what the band were really about.

i'd also take part in a sfa poll. i was obsessed with rings and phantom power in high school but never got around to the early or later records

The early records are fun but I find the buzzy guitar tones a little samey and, while I know this is heretical, I'd rather they'd saved some of the more ambitious stuff like "Mountain People" for that studio-rat phase

You define early SFA differently to me, I think. For me, early SFA is'Dim Brys, Dim Chwys', the first two EP's and Fuzzy Logic.

I don't care to get too granular about it with any band really, I just broadly think of early/mid/late I suppose

I see it more as 1994-1996 being the early stuff, 1997-2004 being their peak, and 2005-2009 being the decline/drop off/whatever. Don't forget that Guerrilla was released during the Creation years, which is just as multicoloured as Rings..., albeit on a smaller budget.

Hey Venus! is my Love Kraft, I suppose. I really disliked it when it came out but I’ve found myself returning to it over the years and I really have nothing bad to say about any one of its tracks. I even enjoy the b-sides. I still wonder how the original mix sounds. They say “Suckers!” is the only song that was mixed that way and I wonder why they kept t that way when it doesn’t really make sense given it’s one of the ballads on the album.

I like Gruff’s solo career for the most part. His live shows are actually better than any SFA live show I’ve experienced. He’s charismatic, funny and energetic in spite of his overwhelmingly laidback personality. I just wish he’d lay off the quirk and funny lyrics sometimes and strive for more of this type of music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdB3GsJFLm

The other SFAs seem to really bring out the best in his songwriting, though. Like most solo careers, there’s something missing from his recorded output.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdB3GsJFLmw

Phantom power is the last one I really liked. Excellent Wendy and Bonnie sample on intro. Love Kraft was good enough but gave up after that

Yeah, it's a bizarre thing to open up your album with a short sample of someone else's record (considering that 'Hello Sunshine' could still comfortably exist without it) but it works. To be fair, you could put together a decent compilation of post-Phantom Power highlights but it was never the same after that album. I dunno what the fuck happened. I just think they were increasingly more bothered about their solo work and less bothered about the SFA stuff. It was nothing to do with shared songwriting, because SFA were always a collaborative and democratic group.

I would be all for a SFA poll. Agree that it would be nice to express love for their great work rather than our disappointment that it has kind of wound down.

Love Kraft has always been my favourite SFA album, I suspect I might be alone in that.

https://instagram.com/p/Bixcy_LnsGu/

I guess we’re getting a Guerrilla reissue soon.

I can't get enough of 'Frontier Man.'

This Cian/Acid Casuals Meic Stevens cover that popped up yesterday is also pretty great: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbg8TEJKvv0&feature=youtu.be

An album full of songs like the above would be very nice indeed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbg8TEJKvv0

Oh yay, a reissue!

Not thrilled about reissues, but I'd be lying if I said the prospect of a live Guerrilla show doesn't sound like my dream come true.

Babelsberg picked up a 9/10 in Uncut and a 4/5 in Q. I have to say I'm getting a little excited.

Got tickets for the rncm concert. First time my son didn't want to go. Not feeling the vibe these days. Phantom power tour was his first gig.

I'm all up for a poll too.

Picked up the ‘Fuzzy Logic’ vinyl reissue this week and appreciated the album anew - I’ve tended to overlook it in favour of the three LPs that followed, thinking of it as a more straight up “rock” record. I think there is a wee bit of that, with the b-sides/‘Out Spaced’ scratching the more out there itch, but I was being unfair.

i'm not going to run the SFA poll anytime soon. i won't run it until all albums are on Spotify but that is my hang up. if anyone else wants to run it then be my guest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpHY-R70mw4

Guto continuing to be the best member of SFA that isn't Gruff.

https://www.gigwise.com/news/3266952/album-premiere-gulp-all-good-wishes

Gulp LP 2 now streaming (out Friday). Prob. my favorite of the SFA side projects, as I said almost a month ago.

Gruff seems to be releasing lots of one-offs now. Here is a one-off called "Bae Bae Bae" for the Eisteddfod:

https://open.spotify.com/track/3Ec3YSkcuLC785tG4gIbIP?si=t6lJofg5RWGEb-15F7Wofg

The Gulp album is sSOOOoooOooooo good. Guto's bass playing is excellent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6y4C2fUjdc

last bump. pls listen to this excellent album.

I am enjoying this so far, thanks.

"Bae Bae Bae" is neat actually

Meh.

Turrican otm

Obvious Turrican Meh?

Not really expecting much from this, but teasers like this are always worth a second look:

pic.twitter.com/GT20jxP2fw

— super furry animals (@superfurry) September 24, 2018

Another fucking reissue/tour? Fuck offffff

Hard to tell.

I hope not.

Gruff's touring all year, though. Can't imagine he's spending much time on SFA.

Shedding their fur - finally splitting up?

Hopefully. They've been trashing themselves for long enough

jeez, just open the vaults and end it already