Search - Super Furry Animals :: Dark Days/Light Years

My first SFA experience...eh

Willaim E. Tynor III | Phx, AZ | 10/16/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

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I was unfamiliar with Super Furry Animals until I heard one of their songs covered by The Wildhearts last year. The song was called "Ice Hockey Hair" and appeared on Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before - an album of covers, most of which were true to the originals. Eager to hear more, I often imagined Super Furry Animals to be a spacey, psychedelic-ish power pop band - maybe similar to an experimental Fountains of Wayne cut or Red Planet's "Starforce" off their Revolution 33 album.



It may be hard to judge a band from their ninth studio album without hearing one through eight. So maybe this review isn't really for casual fans to read, rather those like me who have heard the name but never the sound. Although Dark Days Light Years contains elements of pop, psychedelia, and celestial overtones, Super Furry Animals do not sound at all like the spacey, psychedelic-ish power band that I dreamt of. The neo-psych qualities are equal to some of the more modern, festival-occupying jam bands in existence today. Although only one member is assigned to man the synths and keys (Cian Ciaran, opposite two guitarists - Gruff Rhys and Huw Bunford), the majority of Dark Days is electronic-driven over raw drums, with the stringed instruments often used as only embellishments.



I had come to the conclusion many years ago that, since contemporary electronic music can be traced all the way back to the early 70s with Germany's Kraftwerk as a focal point, we are now in a era in which an artist, without precaution, can sound "outdated" without the privilege of sounding "retro". SFA may actually be the first casualty of my misfortunate revelation. When listening to Dark Days I sense the latest technology in sound emulation and in-studio manipulation being employed. But I can't quite put my finger on if something is either being stifled or horrendously overdone (like possibly the consistent sound effects on the vocals...dude, take a break from it already). It reminds me, although admittedly a far reach, like the Power Rangers episodes on Saturday Morning in which the special effects on TV are sophisticatedly constructed, yet watered down by some limited budget that a only Saturday morning tween television shows can be burdened by.



It's difficult to appreciate the pop sensibilities when the vocal melodies sound constructed by templates. I realize that pop music is all about stimulating the limbic with a hook that the brain finds both pleasant and comfortably, yet sub-consciously, familiar. But then there is pop overkill - music that makes you feel taken advantage of...like that new romantic interest who knows your every move and weakness, thus triggering skepticism. Super Furry Animals sound like a band that is hard to trust and, in turn, one that sounds as if 5000 miles is not the only thing keeping you from being in on the joke (if there is one).



If I had to choose one song to be transferred to a mix - one that survives while I leave the rest behind, it would be "Helium Hearts", a novel love story with an introduction that is only missing the fitting summertime afternoon jock introduction for which commercial radio hasn't used since around 1986. An honorable mention is "Where Do You Wanna Go?" which hits the same poptopia target as "Helium" yet held back by the aforementioned template use in the song's outgoing bridge (which by the way, connects with "Lliwiau Llachar", a non-English version of the previous track). From there, if you take away the two 8 plus minute space jams, while deleting a few of the tracks with those irritating special effected vocal tracks, you just may have yourself a somewhat decent power pop EP."

Not even close to as good as HEY VENUS

jmo | bend, or | 09/07/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Wow this album is fairly disappointing considering I think SFA is one of the best band ever. This album is full of songs that don't really go anywhere and are repetitive. Crazy Naked Girls starts off promising then turns into a decent riff that doesn't really change much for the rest of the song. It pretty much sets the tone of the whole album. Mountain sounds cool but doesn't really amount to much. Moped Eyes kinda sounds like a Talking Heads diddy but it doesn't have much punch. Inaugural Trams is awsome for the first two minutes then it just keeps on repeating for three more minutes. Inconvenience sounds like a bad version of Golden Retriever off Phantom Power. Cardiff in the Sun is wonderous until the last two and a half minutes where again the song doesn't go to that next level of creamy goodness that SFA is great at usually. I don't know what to make of Helium Hearts. Its just so weird I seriously became grumpy after hearing it. White Socks is a boring song. Where Do You Want To Go goes into Liliau Llachar which I treat as one song given that they sound the same but thats a good thing. They have that classic furry vibe. Prick is decent but sounded like a little more could've been done with it in less time. The Very Best Of Neil Diamond is defenitely the highlight of the album. It has that hint of humor and an infectious groove. It seems like they want to simplify their sound as they get older which is what usually happens I guess. Their last 5 or 6 albums are alot better than this outing. In fact this may be my least favorite SFA album I guess because I expect more from them. I still love em though."