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Super Furry Animals - Phantom Power
After more than a decade of reinventing the wheel, it’s safe to assume the creative responsibility of being a Super Furry Animal is exhausting. Rather like legendary Ukranian Olympian Sergei Bubka, you can only clear the bar that you’ve set at a dizzying height so many times before you have to accept that you can go no higher.
Fortunately for us though, SFA are stretching their Indian summer further beyond our horizons, and their run of gold medal albums sees no sign of abating.
Hey Venus! is the most concise album in the band’s history, and after a series of ever-stretching forays to their creative boundaries, it sees them refocusing on the themes and sounds that originally put them amongst the pantheon of musical scholars. They are quite the Plato of pop, if you will.
So you have the blitzkrieg nonsense of opener ‘Gateway Song’ followed by the ringing, stomping soul of ‘Run-Away’, which begins with a marvellous spoken word introduction: _“This song is based on a true story. Which would be fine, if it wasn’t auto-biographical”. Lead single ‘Show Your Hands’ works far better in the context of the album than as a standalone track, its gently psychedelic vibe slipping into this tracklisting comfortably. ‘The Gift That Keeps Giving’ crescendos tenderly, enhanced by a horn section that the Furries seem to be able to utilise more effectively than anyone else.
The most beguiling aspect of Hey Venus!, however, is the production – it’s nothing short of jaw dropping. Never obtrusive, it begins to reveal itself over repeated listens. The multi-layered vocals, harmonies and deeply embedded refrains lay next to deft percussion, elegant keyboards and slowly seeping guitars. Most obviously, these audio sleight of hands become apparent in the midst of the record, on the barracking ‘Into The Night and the digital rock of ‘Baby Ate My Eight Ball’, the latter seemingly made almost solely of vocals piled upon vocals piled upon harmonies. It’s quite mind blowing.
The biggest criticism you could level at the new SFA record is that, for them, it breaks no new ground. If you were being particularly harsh, you could compare any song with an existing track from their back catalogue. That would be unfair, though, as a) the band have a huge collection of songs in the vault, and b) they’ve treaded further than any bands of recent times. So yes, ‘Carbon Dating’ does repeat the Ennio Morricone obsession heard on Mwng and the despairing, sighing beauty of ‘Suckers’ echoes one of their finest tracks, ‘Mountain People’. But these songs, particularly ‘Suckers’ - which is an album highlight - are quite wonderful in their own right.
Towards the album’s end ‘Battersea Odyssey’ emerges, comprising what is probably the only below-par effort to be found here. But it’s quickly rectified by the ‘Presidential Suite’-esque _’Let The Wolves Howl At The Moon'.
Cynicism asks how much farther SFA can keep going while maintaining such a high standard. Sergei Bubka would be proud, however, as Hey Venus! smartly clears the bar they’ve set themselves with ease.
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that artwork is
horrific
good review
I had an SFA day yesterday and worked my way through most of their back catalogue. I noted how back-to-basics Hey Venus! is compared to the more experimental albums Guerilla and Rings Around The World. I'm not complaining as I think Fuzzy Logic is their one true masterpiece and this new work goes some way to retreading that ground.
A special mention should go out to "Run Away" which is one of the best songs they've ever put out.
I think 8 is a fair score too.
we're doin' a huge SFA interview
this week and next week on artrocker.com. Here be the link!
Take that back!
It's brilliant.
Just like the album.
Another great album
SFA are one of the few bands I wish number one singles and massive selling albums upon, but it never happens.
I LOVE Battersea Oddessy
which is really my only gripe with this review. Plus I don't like Let The Wolves Howl At The Moon Much. Other than that, hooray!
Its a brilliant album
Absolutely on form with this album, its one of their best in my opinion. I think Neo Consumer should have been the lead single, its pure classic furries. Shame its only 37 minutes long though, a little short of my bus journey home from work. I think its very unfair to compare tracks with previous works considering this band has went beyond boundaries more than most other bands. Its like expecting green day to make a new album without sounding like themselves.
Agreed,
Run-away is a bit of a furries classic, has a pretty brilliant key change near the end as well, as does the next track (show your hand). Two in a row, a rare occurrence. Key changes should be law
Great write up
I'm off to buy this album at lunch today. Horrah!
very bad artwork indeed.
for the album, i'll start listen them again when they stop sounding like fucking beach boys.
you're an idiot
SFA are the best band in existence today. Still, your loss innit.
Although, I think I agree on the artwork, I prefer the Pete Fowler stuff of old.
huh
what does fucking beach boys sound like...?
Ordinarily
I'd say a key change signified the last resort of the unimaginative (ie: every boy band song, ever), but this is the Furries we're talking about. They've already crammed more imagination into one single song than most bands will achieve in a whole album, hell, maybe even a career. When SFA use key changes, it's just piling on the WIN. Run-Away is totally gorgeous.
best band in existence
how ?
i'm happy with my less important bands though.
this happened at a party
I told a chap that I thought SFA were the best band ever. He was like "Ha ha good Joke!" then his face turned to primal caveman horror as he realised I was serious. "But what about oasis?" he dribbled.
BEST ALBUM of 2007
From the best band of the decade! Keep on rocking SFA!
I seem
to be seeing that guys artwork everywhere at the moment. Anyone know his name?
SFA OK
much better than the last one
SFA only OK
Not all that great. Shame but true. Not a patch on their masterpiece Phantom Power. None of the tracks on Hey Venus! would have made it on there.
I disagree
Up until Battersea Odyssey I honestly think this album is as good as any of their others - probably one of their best. I've not really got into Howl At the moon Yet, but I'm sure it'll grow on me.
I think it's a sign of the furries' consistency that there is such disagreement over what their best album is - I would never have picked Phantom Power as their masterpiece, but it's still awesome.
completely agree about the disagreement over their best album
Listening to Hey Venus has been a bit of an odd experience for me as usually the newest SFA album instantly becomes my favourite. I haven't really had that with this album.
It's a good album but I guess I expected better from them. It's kinda SFA-by-numbers.
Battersea
Battersea odyssey is one of the best songs on the album. And the artwork's done by Mr Keiichi Tanaami(apparently one of the first people to introduce LSD into Japan)
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