In 1996 some welsh guys with their fuzzy logic were askin God to show them magic!i dont know if it was God or a mouse called Stavros but twelve years later the magic is (still) here and these guys continue their amazing musical odyssey , finding them playin with Venus...
from God to Venus there's a whole world full of ambition , experimentation , beauty , depth craziness n pure genious...
maybe now , with their last album "Hey Venus" finally out in US , its time to talk about one of the most underatted bands ever , the GREAT super furry animals...

SFA headlined with Holy Fuck and Fiery Furnaces opening. Needless to say I left after The Fiery Furnaces... those two bands put on a great show though. I've yet to hear anyone mention SFA on their own headlining tour, so I guess I didn't miss anything.

Gruff Rhys' Candylion was alright though. Hey Venus! was decent too, they just don't seem like they'll put on a show,

i think you are wrong.i saw them live a few years ago and they were really amazing.
you know , its always a challenge to go to SFA's gig.with so many different tunes n styles you really dont know what to expect.from the perfection of "slow life" , the nohelic beauty of "hello sunshine" , to the craziness of "the man dont goive a ****" or "neo consumer" .
i think it was your miss my good friend...

i remember getting rings around the world back in 2001. two weeks later i had fuzzy logic, radiator, and guerrilla (still haven't been able to get my hands on mwng, though i haven't really tried too hard). it's been a fun ride since then. agree they are one of the most overlooked and best bands. thats ok with me though. they're my little secret.

I love this band...

quote:

Originally posted by ptownblazer:
i remember getting rings around the world back in 2001. two weeks later i had fuzzy logic, radiator, and guerrilla (still haven't been able to get my hands on mwng, though i haven't really tried too hard). it's been a fun ride since then. agree they are one of the most overlooked and best bands. thats ok with me though. they're my little secret.

Sorry, I don't know how I typed that message from your profile. Those are my words, from Rings being the first and taking off from there.

JGlass, you are crazy! I've seen all three of those bands. While I liked all of them, SFA is heads and shoulders above FF and HF as a live act. I remember turning to my friend during the SFA show (Phantom Power tour) and saying "these guys have as many hooks as the Beatles". Sure, an exhaggeration but I was loving every second of what I saw. The range of that band is staggering. The electro, pop, folk, punk and rock elements make for a bizarre and unpredictable show. Not to mention, Rhys delivers the goods live. Dude can sing.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Il Mago,

you know , they are back!

dark days/light years

...and an 8,3/10 from pitchfork

enjoy!

I'm not anywhere near an unqualified SFA fan - I found the last couple of efforts pretty uninspiring (on record at least).

The latest sounds fantastic so far though - sounds re-energised.

quote:

Originally posted by melvolume:
I'm not anywhere near an unqualified SFA fan - I found the last couple of efforts pretty uninspiring (on record at least).

The latest sounds fantastic so far though - sounds re-energised.

Well Mel, you have talked me into giving the new one some more solid listens. I really owe a lot to SFA. Their lighthearted whimsical rock got me through some hard times once.

quote:

Originally posted by Shadrach:

quote:

Originally posted by melvolume:
I'm not anywhere near an unqualified SFA fan - I found the last couple of efforts pretty uninspiring (on record at least).

The latest sounds fantastic so far though - sounds re-energised.

Well Mel, you have talked me into giving the new one some more solid listens. I really owe a lot to SFA. Their lighthearted whimsical rock got me through some hard times once.

Def worth a shot - I listended to a cheap download first to check it out and was happy enough to shell out for the real deal.

Yeah the SFA have a unique playfulness to them don't they? I loved the way with "Mt" on their latest that they open with a haunted folk beginning, crooning about climbing a mountain before them, then launch into a glam rock stomp that gets increasingly more hilarious as the mountain they describe gets bigger and f*cking bigger - like spinal tap for psychpop but with genuine fun and not so much of the biting irony.

I've got that "Songbook Vol. 1" compilation that came out a few years ago. For me personally, that's all the SFA I need. Its a pretty good collection of songs, out of 21 tracks almost every one is really good.

I will contend that if these guys quit today, they could release a three disc "greatest hits" collection that few bands could touch in terms of quality and diversity.

They are a lighthearted and playful band but there is also an apocalyptic undercurrent to their songs that is genuine. They are a "We are doomed but at least we're enjoying the ride" kind of band; hedonists with heart.

So, now with ten albums (including Outspaced) to choose from, what are everyone's favorite SFA tracks? With this band, you could have a list of 40 or 50 "classic" songs. I'll work on this and try to limit it to around 30. (I'm lukewarm on Dark Days and there is probably nothing on there that would make it into the SFA canon.)

quote:

Originally posted by Jamieg:
I will contend that if these guys quit today, they could release a three disc "greatest hits" collection that few bands could touch in terms of quality and diversity.

They are a lighthearted and playful band but there is also an apocalyptic undercurrent to their songs that is genuine. They are a "We are doomed but at least we're enjoying the ride" kind of band; hedonists with heart.

So, now with ten albums (including Outspaced) to choose from, what are everyone's favorite SFA tracks? With this band, you could have a list of 40 or 50 "classic" songs. I'll work on this and try to limit it to around 30. (I'm lukewarm on Dark Days and there is probably nothing on there that would make it into the SFA canon.)

SFA has loads of classic songs, here is my top 30:

1. Hometown Unicorn
2. Dacw Hi
3. Pan Ddaw'r Wawr
4. She's Got Spies
5. Something For The Weekend
6. The Turning Tide
7. Northern Lites
8. Bass Tuned To D.E.A.D.
9. Do Or Die
10. (Drawing) Rings Around the World
11. Demons
12. Hello Sunshine
13. Night Vision
14. The International Language of Screaming
15. It's Not the End of the World
16. Juxtaposed With U
17. Torra Fy Ngwallt Yn Hir
18. Zoom!
19. Ymaelodi A'r Ymylon
20. Ohio Heat
21. Herman Loves Pauline
22. Golden Retriever
23. Presidential Suite
24. Liberty Belle
25. Receptacle for the Respectable
26. Fragile Happiness
27. Venus and Serena
28. Shoot Doris Day
29. God! Show Me Magic
30. Run-Away


I could add at least 10 more songs and there wouldn't be a weak song on this list.

My favourite SFA song is definitely She's Got Spies although I still don't think they've bettered Fuzzy Logic as an album.

30 SFA songs and no "slow life"?
it 's probably my fav SFA tune of the decade.a masterpiece.

it 's hard to make list.it cant work 'cause they have so many different tracks and styles.most of the time i have the "SFA ballads phase" , "SFA instrumentals phase" , "SFA perfect pop tunes phase" , "SFA psychedelic phase" , SFA crazy phase" etc...

i can only say for sure that if you have only that "Songbook Vol. 1" compilation , then its like having nothing at all about them!!!
their real beauty is in their album tracks.that's what make them so special to me.

Totally agree on "Slow Life." It's my number one.

The Super Furry Super 30:

1. Slow Life
2. Run! Christian, Run!
3. Wherever I Lay My Phone (That's My Home)
4. Hometown Unicorn
5. Ohio Heat
6. Receptacle for the Respectable
7. Liberty Belle
8. The Undefeated
9. Gathering Moss
10. Frequency
11. Northern Lites
12. Zoom!
13. The Piccolo Snare
14. Sex, War & Robots
15. Pan Ddwa'r Wawr
16. Mountain People
17. Run-Away
18. Keep the Cosmic Trigger Happy
19. Let the Wolves Howl at the Moon
20. Hermann Loves Pauline
21. Focus Pocus/Debiel
22. Ysbeidiau Heulog
23. Juxtapozed With U
24. Hello Sunshine
25. Smokin'
26. Pam V
27. Something 4 the Weekend
28. Ymaelodi A'r Ymylon
29. Do or Die
30. Atomik Lust

Hands up for the Super Furry Animals. I bought 'Radiator' and 'Guerilla' a couple of years ago for little money and these albums have been growing on me. I have never called them my favourites, but somehow they belong to the albums I play the most, so I guess they actually are some kind of favs.

I have a hard time making an SFA top 30. I will say that "Love Kraft" is one of my all time favorite albums ever. I'm still discovering the band but they've become one of my favorites (and my most played on last.fm ). I heard about them via "Dark Days/Light Years" and after being obsessed with that one for a while I got everything else in their catalogue. Now I've slowly been becoming obsessed with the rest of their albums, 5 out of 9 so far hehe. I kinda dig the 2000 output more than the stuff from the 90's right now.

Love Kraft is an underrated album. Without a doubt, the first half of the album contains some of the best music of the decade, but the second half has always been problematic for me. "Cabin Fever" is a good song, but it is anti-climatic as a closer for that record. "Cloudberries" starts out great and halfway through it seems like it is going to go someplace amazing, but then it halts and returns to the choir that worked on the album opener, but doesn't here. "Psyclone!" is the best thing on that second half, while "Oi Frango" and "Back on a Roll" are pleasant, but disposable. The back half is frustrating, but it also represents what I love about SFA: they constantly take chances, experiment with different styles, refuse to cater to fans and are never conventional. Almost all their albums contain some failures, but they are failures on a grand scale, and this constant pushing has produced some of the most dynamic music around.
I'm glad you discovered them, Mad Dingo. I've never understood why they don't have more fans on this board. Also, I agree that their 2000's work is more interesting than that of the 90's, although Guerilla is one of my favorites and probably is their most cohesive album.