Album Review
I can distinctly remember the arrival of Radiator, Super Furry Animals’ second album and one of the records (like Radiohead’s OK Computer and Beck’s catalog) that challenged the direction of ‘90s rock music by bringing in psychedelic and Krautrock influences that seemed to come from left field, yet sound exactly right for the times. The decade’s rock had started with a grungy rebellion against producer-friendly hair metal and it seemed logical enough that something a little arty was necessary after all those flannel shirts and carefully-ripped jeans. The Super Furry Animals were leaving behind their own Brit-pop niche as well, and showing the way forward for a more complicated, adventurous indie movement.
On Dark Days/Light Years Super Furry Animals seem more adventurously weird than ever.
Not to say they’ve ever quit being a pop band, necessarily. One listen to their latest album, Dark Days/Light Years, is proof enough of that statement. And yet, they seem more adventurously weird than ever. A track like “Inaugural Trams” is a perfect example of a group who knows exactly how to balance sugary, finger-snapping pop with arty eclecticism (and throw an ‘80s Berlin dancefloor breakdown in for good measure). The bouncy synth lines and driving beat could be an early Roxy Music track, a new wave one-hit wonder, or one of those indie-rock hits we hear on TV ads these days. The ambient mechanical space of “Cardiff in the Sun” is part Eno, part Blur. The fuzzy build-up at the end is its own bit of magic altogether. One of the stranger amalgams here, though, is the Middle-Eastern trance-rock tune, “The Very Best of Neil Diamond.” I don’t have much to say about it but that I hope it makes it into the soundtrack of Seth Rogen film soon.
Listen to “Inaugural Trams”
Listen to “Cardiff in the Sun”
Listen to “The Very Best of Neil Diamond”
There are a couple of Paul Weller-style pop tunes here, like “Helium Hearts” and the more interesting “White Socks/Flip Flops” (which doesn’t sound at all like the Jimmy Buffet song that comes to mind from that title). The latter song features some ear-candy synth-playing, and slowly takes on a kind of ‘60s-pop vibe. This feel is kept up on the TV-show-theme of “Where Do You Wanna Go?,” one of the catchier tracks here. “Lliwiau Llachar,” though, is even catchier. Yep, that’s Welsh their singing, and you’ll be pretending to sing along to the words after about a minute of this three-minute gem of psychedelic uber-pop.
Listen to “White Socks/Flip Flops”
Listen to “Lliwiau Llachar”
Another standout pop track is the electro-infused party song “Crazy Naked Girls,” which is really promising before it devolves into an acid trip of guitar riffs and bluesy clichés. And this is really the hold-up on Dark Days, Light Years: there’s a really dull smattering of Led Zeppelin in a lot of the nooks and crannies of this record. “Mt,” the second track, sounds like a B-side from one of the Rolling Stones’ last several albums. “Moped Eyes” is part Gary Numan, but also part ZZ Top. “Inconvenience,” the album’s fifth track, sounds like it came from a 21st century blues-rock band who’s never heard of The White Stripes before.
Listen to “Moped Eyes”
Listen to “Pric”
These are some pretty low points on an otherwise lovable album (if something both super and furry needs to also be lovable). But what makes the album, or its parts, really stand out, is the final track. At just under ten minutes, the Krautrock-video-game-prog of “Pric” sounds nothing like the blues-scale swaggering of the album’s first half. Altogether, Dark Days, Light Years is a welcome event if for no other reason than to hear that Super Furry Animals are still on top of their acid-addled, genre-busting act. It’s an act we could use a little more of about now.
