Artist bio

The Welsh quintet Super Furry Animals are one of the most inventive bands of their era, exploring new musical avenues with each release and each passing year. They have drawn inspiration from throughout the history of rock music, to say nothing of their huge electronic influences, and have consistently created compelling albums and songs within each idiom through which they pass.

Having formed from the ashes of a number of bands, including a noise-rock outfit and a techno group, SFA released their first EP, the impossibly-named Lianfairpwllgywgyllgogerchwymdrobwlltysiliogo-ygoyocynygofod (In Space) in 1995. They inked to Creation and kick-started their English-language catalog with Fuzzy Logic in 1996. Its unique punk- and power-pop-influenced tunes floated lysergic patterns and engaging lyrics about off-beat subjects, and the sound was furthered and expanded on the fine sophomore slab Radiator in 1997. 1999's Guerrilla was reportedly recorded only when the sun was shining, at Peter Gabriel's Real World studios, and added a decidedly technological edge to the group's music with an increased focus on electronic rhythms and textures spun together with a sharpened pop hilarity.

But then the group took another turn with its music as its label Creation folded; retreating to the moors of its homeland, the band recorded the Welsh-language Mwng for 6,000 quid in local studios. But hey, lo-fi and less-spoken language doesn't dim the album's appeal. It becomes the highest-selling Welsh-language album of all time, earning them a mention in a Parliament session.

Not to stay pointed in one direction for very long, the group's sixth album Rings Around The World was its slick, produced major-label debut, which sacrificed a tad of the earlier punkish rockula for a perfectly executed widescreen distillation of the group's talents. Eardrum-blazing techno merged with somber acoustic balladry; death-metal codas sat next to five-part pop opuses; sexually charged, thumping instrumentals and gospel-chorused classic rock songs all crashed together in a ponderous, life-affirming stew.

SFA upped the ante once again in 2003, with the space-rock epic "Phantom Power," which took the group's songwriting and arrangement skills to another planet, treating the world to a host of multi-faceted anthems.

They continues to explore the edges of the pop and rock universe, and they put on a great concert. What more could you want?

Albums by this artist

Love Kraft (2005)

Phantom Power (2003)

Rings Around The World (Recommended) (2001)

Mwng (2000)

Guerrilla (1999)

Out Spaced (1998)

Radiator (Recommended) (1997)

Fuzzy Logic (1996)

Concerts

April 24, 2002
Irving Plaza, New York

Interviews

Unleashing Their Power
July 26, 2003

Drawing Rings Around The World
July 28, 2001

Super Furry Animals

Love Kraft

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» TROY CARPENTER | CO-DIRECTOR

Super Furry Animals Love Kraft XL Recordings, 2005 RiYL: Todd Rundgren, Pink Floyd, Beatles

Super Furry Animals are a tricky bunch. A lot of pop groups work hard to establish a style or sound and when they get restless and stray from their creative box, sometimes fans don’t take it so well.

SFA, on the other hand, set the precedent of always searching for new sounds; thus, it’s stagnancy their fans fear the most. Thankfully, it’s in short supply in the Super Furry camp. 2003’s Phantom Power was probably the least adventurous of the SFA albums, though that set was more diverse than what most groups can put down in a career.

Now the group merrily returns with its seventh full-length, Love Kraft, and it not only betters its predecessor, it stands as perhaps the maturing quintet’s most accomplished work to date – expansive but introspective, sexy but outlandish, cohesive but certainly not stagnant. In a perfect world, this record would take the Furries to the top of the charts. But I’m sure I’ve said that before.

Once again, producer Mario Caldato Jr. (Beastie Boys) was on board, and he helps smooth out any potential turbulence resulting from the fact that drummer Dafydd Ieuan, keyboardist/programmer Cian Ciaran and guitarist Huw Bunford all contribute writing credits and lead vocals to the album, joining frontman Gruff Rhys, who traditionally handles both gigs.

“Let’s get our shit together,” sings Ieuan on “Atomik Lust,” “and sing with cracked brains.” And so they do – everyone joins in and throws a rave. The celebratory “The Horn” is the aural epitome of the group’s camaraderie: a merry pub singalong replete with jingling cowbell and an addictive circular refrain.

“Zoom” is a complex and alluring opener, tracing a psychedelic arc through its seven minutes with string harmonies by Sean O’Hagan, a distorted choir, a hard-rock guitar solo and surrealistic lyrics (“Sold you a dalmatian, but the spots fell off / pooled them all together as a hairy moth / bred it with a lion but it flew away / now it chases drones around the sky”). Later, “Ohio Heat” lilts by on a seductive acoustic guitar-based groove and first single “Lazer Beam” explodes with disco beats and electric distortion.

Ciaran’s closer “Cabin Fever” is an appropriately stunning exit piece, building upon a moody piano hook and swirling background harmonies to close on a warm, ponderous note.

At this late date, “Love Kraft” ups the ante for the Super Furries. It was always clear that the group was multi-talented, but the new album hints at larger possibilities with its democracy. For a band that has always enjoyed eating around the mold, to still be innovating at this late date is impressive, and the album contains everything we’ve come to expect from SFA plus more. This is not the kind of band whose future can ever be anticipated, but “Love Kraft” fosters an optimism that the outlook for pop music in general is bright as long as this merry group is still in operation.

TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.