Super Furry Animals : S/D

So yeah, great great band -- I think they haven't made a bad album yet and they've had some just killer singles over the year. However, having seen them twice this year (Arthur -- don't ask but I somehow got into the show earlier this month by the skin of the teeth!), I think they should pull a Steely Dan/XTC and quit the road. Both shows were solid without being flat out truly wonderful, and nobody in the band seemed really thrilled, and a lot of the detail in their songs is either lost or a bit crushed live. But maybe they just need to shake things up a bit in general!

Search - The Man Don't Give A Fuck, Mountain People, Run Christian Run, Gathering Moss, Play It Cool, Smoking, Ice Hockey Hair, Juxtaposed With U, a lot of Mwng, Some Things Come From Nothing, Bad Behaviour, God Show Me Magic, hell, most of them.

Destroy - The first song on Mwng, Shoot Doris Day, Fire In My Heart, Wherever I Lay My Phone (That's My Home), the drum'n'bass one on Guerilla.

If you can't get to Notting Hill, some of the rare early stuff is on Out Spaced, which works very well as an album as compilations go.

Anyway,
Search: "Hermann Loves Pauline" and "Ice Hockey Hair", at least. Come on, people, your life will not be complete if you fail to heed this advice. Everything else they've ever done.
Destroy: Oh alright, "The Man Don't Give A Fuck". You're not having anything else, though, this band is one of the greats.

What the...? First time I've heard anybody dissatisfied with a SFA gig; let alone two. The detail was "a bit crushed live"? Those guys are meticulous about every last utterance and effect...

Their 2002 US tour was glorious... even if it was toned down from their UK set.

They're all among my favourite SFA songs! Well, I can live without FIMH but the rest of 'em fock, esp WILMP(TMH). So there.

Search: The Turning Tide, Receptacle For The Respectable, It's Not The End Of The World, Northern Lites, Some Things Come From Nothing, Ice Hockey Hair, God Show Me Magic!, and ooh.. lots more.

Destroy: International Language Of Screaming, Alternate Route To Vulcan Street.

Great Furries Songs - Play it Cool, Northern Lites, The Turning Tide, Something For the Weekend, It's not the End of the World, Download, and many more.

Overall though, I think SFA just seem uncomfortable playing live in general. One of the things they're afraid to try, IMHO, is to make the live shows more raw, stripped down, and lacking all the colors, characters, and video/tech hoopla. Everyone agrees that their best moments live were the songs they added to the set last minute without any video accompaniment.

I had a chance to see them a few weeks ago, but I turned it down, because I figured it would be the same thing... and, as Ned hinted, it was.

Maybe SFA should just pull an XTC.

End of fucking story.

Back to the crux of the thread, pick up Radiator and Rings Around the World, and you're in a world of musical joy.

And of course they palyed Mountain People and the Man Don't Give A Fuck. I'm not sure there's any of their albums I don't like. Definitly some less fine moments on all of them but basically all good. Possibly they'll release a Greatest hits album that will be really great.

Destroy: you don't want me to destroy you, surely?

Destroy:
I can't bring to mind a single rubbish SFA song. But FUZZY LOGIC
and RINGS AROUND THE WORLD must have a few.

Destroy: Actually, by now I don't think much of "The Man Don't Give a Fuck", although I'm sure it's a headbanger at live shows.

Absolutely one of the greatest bands of all time.

Destroy: absolutely nothing. Mr Snrub OTM.

Turn up early for Zabrinski as well, they're a good band and good guys.

One of the LPs has a seven inch single hidden in the gatefold front sleeve part. This contains a 'lock groove' the contents of which I don't know.

I first heard "The Man Don't Give a Fuck" live, actually. They had a video synced to it, too, with Lenin and Stalin inciting crowds. It FUCKING SMOKED.

What gets in the way of it being utterly perfect for me is that there's a certain jokiness about the songs which feels like it's trying to be both earnest *and* an escape clause, like if it's straight earnest then the post-Britpop crowd would become suspicious (this especially marrs the otherwise great "Wherever I Lay My Phone...". Which is a shame because I can sort of see the band gesturing towards A.R. Kane I territory at times, and the moments I love are those which just sound too emotional, cracking with big big feelings ("Turning Tide", "Northern Lites"). But the sonic largesse and the emotional largesse don't seem to co-incide all that often.

I have a feeling I might like Mwyng. What would people suggest?

"Mwng", of course, is their no-frills album. Almost none of the sonic largesse that's in abundance on their previous albums. Relative to their other work, it's always sounded flat to me. So much of the fun of SFA is hearing them effortlessly morph a ballad into a techno track.

I think you have also just described the Orb! (Simon Reynolds I think said something similar about them back in 1993.)

Ned would i like Radiator do you think?

Wow I'm so indie at the moment!

should write about some of it on skykicking

Also check out the newly released Am Byth by Ffa Coffi Pawb. Pre-SFA band with Gruff and Daf. Catchy tunes and well worth purchasing. It reveals that Gruff had an unnatural Jesus & Mary Chain obsession tho...

SEARCH: EVERYTHING
DESTROY: TMDGAF Live single

Generally, I would say "Radiator" is their best while "Guerilla" is their least good, but everything is certainly worth checking out.

Fuzzy Logic is their best, one of the greatest albums of the 90s IMHO. The least good is... well, Phantom Power. still good, but not that perfect as the earlier ones.

And I found it used randomly last night, so rah. Like Molly said upthread, MAJOR Jesus and Mary Chain jones, but I like what they did with it, and the various other touches into demi-psych and poppier harmonies are nice too.

Search: everything other than...
Destroy: Love Kraft. Really mediocre album that is the complete opposite of everything the press release states. I don't know what the hell they were doing.

Definitely search: Radiator, Guerrilla, Mwng, Phantom Power, Hey Venus! (all of these albums, to me, are pretty much perfect)

Of the rest...

FUZZY LOGIC (1996)
Destroy: 'Long Gone' (one of the worst album tracks the Super Furry Animals ever did, in my opinion), and 'Bad Behaviour' (which goes on far longer than it needs to), but definitely keep everything else. This is probably the one SFA album that is most 'tied down' to the time in which it was released. Listening to this album evokes a bygone age when Oasis were the biggest band in the UK, and Blur were still writing songs about houses in the country. However, it does have a certain naive energy to it that other SFA albums don't have.

RINGS AROUND THE WORLD (2001)
A very good effort, although I've always found this album to be an album of "two halves". The first half (up until 'A Touch Sensitive') features all of Super Furry Animals' usual pop goodness, whereas the second half is much more ponderous and takes time to grow. Aside from this, I can't fault it - but despite words like "ambition", "scope" and "invention" that get thrown around whenever this album is discussed, I simply can't bring myself to call it one of Super Furry Animals best. I personally wouldn't destroy anything from the record, but don't expect 'Shoot Doris Day' or 'No Sympathy' to rock your world right away.

LOVE KRAFT
Much, much better than people generally give it credit for - some of Super Furry Animals most accomplished music is on this record, and it's absolutely perfect for headphone listening. It's not an album that smacks one in the face with pop gems, rather a sonic experience that you have to let unfold at a leisurely pace. 'Lazer Beam' is the sole one that I would destroy from this album: definitely Super Furry Animals worst ever single, and certainly one of Super Furry Animals worst ever album tracks.

DARK DAYS/LIGHT YEARS
A disappointment. While Super Furry Animals have put out tracks developed from rehearsal room jams and grooves on B-sides over the years, here they attempt a whole album of them - and although this gives the album a 'concept', for want of a better term, it leads to a very hit and miss experience. For this album -

Search: Crazy Naked Girls, Inconvenience, The Very Best Of Neil Diamond, Helium Hearts, White Socks/Flip Flops, Pric.

Destroy: Mt. (they've done this kind of glam stomper before, and much better), Moped Eyes (a track developed out of a jokey studio jam, and one which should have remained on the cutting-room floor), Inaugural Trams (which tries to regain the "sense of fun" of Guerrilla but falls flat due to its forced subject matter and embarrassing German rap).

Of the rest: 'Where Do You Wanna Go?/Lliwiau Llachar' is SFA-by-numbers, and although enjoyable, isn't really essential either.

okay, so "Gathering Moss" has been stuck in my head for months (actually, just like 5-6 seconds of it), I've been dreaming about this damn song, and until just now I hadn't identified it. I heard the guy's voice so clearly in my head, but thought it was Ray Davies, or the Beatles, or who knows what. Never listened to Fuzzy Logic much so maybe that's why. But it's like, a burden has been lifted. I feel free again!

New Cian tune: http://soundcloud.com/strangetown-records/martina-franca

Really damn good.

A little bit of an improvement over the other Cian tracks I've heard, but still not my cup of tea. Sounds like a semi-cover of 'Heroes & Villains' as played by a Blackpool Pleasure Beach house band. Really fucking corny.

What made the sun go out in your heart?

You ever listen to the album, Jupiter 8? What'd you think? Dross, mediocre... a sleeper surprise?

Will they ever return?

Yes, but right now we have...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jBMAPx_Pdo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekSQ6ja1ZJc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG6Nj5Orl1w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ0_8083brE

https://soundcloud.com/kdhx/sets/gruff-rhys-live-at-kdhx-8-12 (bunch of new songs for another documentary.

Hopefully none of this stuff keeps them occupied for too long... :\

New song by The Earth (Daf the drummer and Mark Roberts from Catatonia):

http://theearth.amazingtunes.com/tunes/162403

Sounds nothing like SFA--that's for sure.

Apparently we can expect a new Neon Neon record.

Oh yes.

Posted about it elsewhere...

http://vimeo.com/58047877

Asia Argento and Sabrina Salerno on vocals...Josh Klinghoffer & a couple of his cohorts backing Gruff & Boom Bip. Arguably more interesting concept than last time. No signs of hip hop this time. Could be a good one.

They're not "on vocals." They're doing backing vocals or duets or whatever. I think Cate Le Bon's on there again as well.

http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/cianciaran?utm_campaign=project5086&utm_medium=activity&utm_source=facebook

If the last one was a so called ‘love songs’ album then I guess this is my protest album. It’s about shouting up, exercising your voice, being pissed off and urging people not to take any more shit. The elite continue to exploit, politicians continue to misrepresent whilst the media continue to manipulate and bankers, well we all know what rhymes with bankers! It’s time we face the consequences of our actions, we are all responsible.

I’ve teamed up with PledgeMusic to offer you a number of exclusive, rare goodies and VIP experiences. No matter what you’re pledge, you will automatically receive a download of the album plus exclusive content direct from me. I will post videos, MP3s, blogs and possibly even a sneak preview of the album, so you can watch my progress and be part of the story. No money will be debited from your bank account until I reach 100% of my target.

A percentage of the proceeds will also go to https://www.coolearth.org a charity that works with local communities to secure rainforests at risk of being destroyed within the next 18 months.

I hope you can join me. There’s strength in numbers!

In Solidarity.

Cian Ciarán.

Went for the triple vinyl

how have i never posted in this thread before? i must have posted in all the other SFA threads.

here is the thread i thought was going to be this one: Super Furriest album poll

New Gulp single: https://soundcloud.com/e-l-k-1/sets/play-ep/likes

http://i.imgur.com/fp0C3Zj.jpg

SFA or Incubus?

Song samples: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00E4X4YV0?ie=UTF8&child=B00E4X52BG

WHOA! This actually rules!

I mean, when I found out that Cian was doing a louder, more guitar-based album, I really didn't have any idea that it was going to sound anything like '5c Cotton 40c Beef', so that's a huge, and VERY pleasant surprise.

'43,000,000' is like stoner rock, but done in a much, much less cartoonish way than SFA did it on 'Crazy Naked Girls'. I have a feeling I'm going to play the shit out of this record when it finally comes out. To say I'm preferring what I'm hearing here to Outside In is a huge understatement.

I think if anyone in the band will make SFA's sound vital again, it's Cian. He seems like he's at least pushing his own boundaries lately.

The thing that blows my mind about it (the first two tracks especially), is that Cian has given no prior indication that he has this sound in him (like, it was Bunf that was responsible for 'Crazy Naked Girls' etc.) - It's not the techno he does with the Acid Casuals and SFA, and it's not the lush orchestral ballad-type stuff he's been known for recently. It's a guitar based record from someone who isn't really noted in SFA for playing much guitar, and from what I've heard, he seems to be doing it a lot better than I ever thought he would.

From what I understand, he played all the instruments on the album as well. So if that's the case, he's a really good drummer as well!

He's already overshot his goal with over a month to go. I'm actually kind of shocked that many people know about who he is and care enough to pledge a significant amount of money. Maybe SFA should consider going this route when/if they release a new album. It's a pretty awesome way to interact with fans.

It'd be a great way of making enough cash to make a really mental record, too.

Am I crazy or is there always some kind of voice hidden deep within the bass on all of Cian's songs?

Yes. It's saying, "Gruuuuuuff suuuuuucks."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkngIDEk4Io

Just listen...

Start really hearing it around 2:10.

it's Cian's demonic twin

It's just a low octave voice that Cian uses to thicken his voice out.

http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1jismq/i_am_cian_ciaran_ama/

On his fav. SFA albums:

cianciaran [+19][S] 4 points 2 days ago (5|1)
mainstream ? hmm, not sure . lovekraft , or phantom power , or maybe fuzzylogic , could be radiator but then again I quite like mwng and rings too, the last one was good .....
what is this deep voice you speak of ?

No Guerrilla?? Love Kraft first to mind?? Scandalous.

Kind of a people-pleasing routine SFA tune, but still nice for a short single:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep676o0zaaA

http://rocksucker.co.uk/2013/08/interview-cian-ciaran.html?utm_campaign=twitter&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitter

He did this new one completely by himself, even the drums.

http://ampleplay.tumblr.com/post/47713427550/cian-ciaran-sleepless-nights-mpfree-a-free-mp3-when

Another one from an EP Ample Play is releasing soon.

The reviews are now coming in: http://rocksucker.co.uk/2013/08/review-cian-ciaran-they-are-nothing-without-us.html

Sounds positively delightful.

Oh man, they're really going for it with the Strangetown label. This definitely sounds like a Cian Ciaran production: https://soundcloud.com/strangetown-records/sets/baby-queens

One week left to pledge/release. He's at 236 pledges.

Cian's pledge ends tonight. You still have six hours left to get your pledge in if you want to listen to the album two weeks before it's released. MP3s go out tonight once it's over.

http://pledgemusic.com/projects/cianciaran

The Sewn Up EP: https://soundcloud.com/strangetown-records/sets/cian-ciaran-tanwu

Gulp vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2_-qGJoYKs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs8Ow0nyn2U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqAxig1WtlI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bCCnazr204&feature=youtu.be

Hello. Welcome to Super Furry Animals...MINUS Gruff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S41DTo8PzmY

https://driftrecords.com/products/das-koolies-its-all-about-the-dolphins-12

been discussed for a while on the all-caps SFA thread. You gotta be swift to scoop the SFA goon cru

I believe it!

I like it a lot. The rest of the thread didn't seem to. :)

It could grow on both of us

The more I listen, the more I think Love Kraft is one of the best albums ever made

It pains me that this is not a commonly held view

For a very long time I thought of Love Kraft as my fave SFA album. But a couple of years ago, my then 2y old daughter had a phase where she wanted to listen to Phantom Power all the time - I realised I had never given it proper attention & after repeated plays I got to think of that one as probably their best (although there's a couple of tracks on there which annoy me, the strongest tracks - especially the final two - more than make up for those).

I really like the Koolies song too.

What makes Love Kraft stand out among the other albums? Genuinely curious. There are at least four tracks I really struggle with, but I do love a lot of it. I think the moments where they try to force that SFA “zany” pop sound really ruin whatever I think they were going for. Stuff like “Cabin Fever” is so musically and structurally impressive... the kind of song I play for people who never took SFA seriously.

i like the Koolies song ok but it's not interesting at all, if that makes sense.

It sort of sounds like all the things SFA are good at, but with none of that Gruff charm that’d send it over the edge perhaps?

Probably the only person in the world who holds this opinion, but 2019's The Earth album is prob. the best SFA side/solo/whatever thing that's come out in the 10 years since they took their hiatus. Dionne's got an incredible voice, and Daf's stoned, lazy backing Vox sound amazing paired with her singing. This is so outside the boundaries of what SFA fans want to listen to that I'm not surprised these albums haven't taken off (or maybe I have really bad taste).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7woDyNwATI

If we count the Baby Queens album, that gets my vote.

Oh, that's a really good one as well. I thought it had potential to break out past the SFA/Wales market, but it didn't appear to go anywhere.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H74B_wkmHKk

this is so good

stoked to check out The Earth thingy

It sort of sounds like all the things SFA are good at, but with none of that Gruff charm that’d send it over the edge perhaps?

ha this is exactly along the lines of my initial post thoughts, which were "this is good, but it does not _delight_ me like good SFA," but it sounded revoltingly precious. i could not word it properly.

*watches Naughty Naughty*

nah that's almost exactly inside what this SFA fan wants, THANKS

gotta say, i didn't know distribution in the web age could be this hard. i wanna wanna wanna buy that shit direct, it on apple music if you ask right, not on bandcamp, they say they're in amazon (they're not by my looks) and the weblink off the only shit i could find (on FACEBOOK!) is dead.

the shit off apple music is good imo. if anyone has the right place to send dough for songs tho

Finally got a dl. I have no idea who this is really for, other than me. I love the fuck out of it right off the bat. "You Must Be Mistaken" could be a mid SFA song.

Awesome. Glad you are enjoying it. I think Bunf might make an appearance on “Cyanide Sighs.” Don’t have the credits but I think I hear his voice near the end.

Can’t Have It All is exactly the weird delightful shit i think about that came from SFA. In some ways it is the trippiest retropsych that i’ve heard because there are all manners of proper styles colliding in non-standard ways, and the lyrical icing smoothed onto it is both beautiful and incredibly arch.

*sighs* this is the fuckin best.

This one's got a really good hook:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG6Nj5Orl1w

lol aggressive!

So many pop intersections topped with belting brutal funny lyrics. It’s like Shirley Bassey singing Rings Around the World with a good feeling for hitting the punch lines.

so i’ll shut up now.

And at both LA shows, the performances were good but not enthusiastic, the recreations of the songs so straightforward to the point that I could have just put the DVD on and watched that most of the time -- and with the muddy sound at the El Rey in particular, details WERE lost, trust me. They just didn't seem all that thrilled to be there both times, nearly six months apart, and while I can easily ascribe that to being in LA, board semi-regular donut bitch in Seattle described similar vibes up there (and he's as much a fan as I).
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, October 30, 2002 5:41 PM (seventeen years ago)

Got off the bus right around this point. They were way better live in the late '90s before they started playing their entire set to a click track.

There were many shows I attended where they were pretty listless, but then they were still capable of moments like this well into their career:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW_qnfznUqA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kV0bC1iChg

There's the B-side.

Pretty damn far out!

PPS i’m def still very ride or die on the earth, it’s the MOR-actually-NOT-MOR, tina-turner-is-updated-and-very-real album pair that i didn’t know i was waiting for.

the preceding album is the MOR album to those is so not as good, same production and playing level, but sorta bad.

lookin forward to das koolies b side...

B-side is v. Spacemen 3 once you get past the six minutes of opening drone.

"but then they were still capable of moments like this well into their career:"

That... sounds exactly like Epic period SFA playing Mountain People to a click track? That mellotron- ugh.
This performance makes me very grateful that Mountain ppl was on Radiator instead of Phantom Power.
Might as well watch the DVD = nail on the head.

don't mind me, as I've clearly never forgiven them for RATW, going all nerdy ("retropsych"), yada, yada.

The outro is fantastic IMO. I know it's derivative of the old outros, but it sounded huge in person.

Funny thing is, back in the Creation days I often thought how they needed to get a producer like Mario C on board to make their records that little bit bolder and edgier.
And they went on to kraft their most edgeless records with none other than.

Yeah, i liked the outro pretty well. Not as well as the ken nordine "orangely out of its head" one from 99, but pretty well.

idg what makes RATW less adventurous than the previous albums. sure it's a bit more polished but it's still completely all over the place surely

i mean, if you can ignore 'it's not the end of the world' and 'presidential suite'

I got into them when RAtW came out, so I can't really see where deflatormouse is coming from. I do agree they're a bit sterile live, however.

Also, maybe the songwriting on Hey Venus! and Dark Days/Light Years isn't up to par with the earlier albums, but it seemed like they were starting to move towards a less polished sound on those two albums.

"idg what makes RATW less adventurous than the previous albums."

I wrote a very long post in the 'ALL CAPS' SFA thread that touched on this. I think my primary complaint was "not as cool" as their previous albums (going soft) rather than "not as adventurous". But certainly also less adventurous in that on RATW they established a stylistic continuity from album-to-album for the first time and began to disengage from the musical conversation of the moment.

What they'd lost, in a word, was urgency.

I agree that their two Rough Trade albums took steps to address all this (I think quite deliberately), and I agree that they weren't up to snuff.

FWIW I wasn't that into Fuzzy Logic when it came out. I bought it and listened but wasn't all that taken with it until I went back and listened to it in late '97 with Radiator as my Rosetta Stone.

I really rather like DD/LY, if we ignore the existence of 'Mt.'

I mean, they gave plenty of lethargic performances when they were touring behind Radiator and Guerrilla where they were too stoned to stand up. Literally, on at least one occasion. And that was pretty fucking cool, actually.
They were not always energetic and enthusiastic. But in everything they did, they confronted the "now".

ha i don't rate phantoms that highly, and hold post phantoms at meh, but ratw is a creativity highlight that is more than retropsych imo. its not just retro and its not just psych, tho i have a soft spot for both.

Always thought 'psych' was a misnomer for SFA actually, as they've shown a lot more interest in soul textures and dance music production.

" ratw is a creativity highlight that is more than retropsych imo. its not just retro and its not just psych"

ok, why/why not??

I won't assume that "not just retro" = techno, but the techno breaks feel gratuitous and tacked on to me this time around and don't transcend the novelty emelent IMO, where on the previous two releases there was a seamless structural and stylistic integration with electronic experiments forming the basis for several tracks on Guerilla.

so wtev has taken over the SFA ballot poll for me, this now looks like it will be coming up soon...

ILM Ballot Polls for 2020 and beyond -- the ordering, timing, "I would have voted if I'd known about it," etc

The b-side reminded me of this gem. Bunf's kind of underrated, imo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcYSvCKYUTM

Bit of an odd voice. Maybe not a great voice. He seems to be the guy in the band who's just a little less polished & a bit more adventurous than the rest, and you can really hear it when he strikes out on his own.

Sort of fascinated by how different Gruff looks in this footage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbEnvo0fh08

He was rocking dreads a few years earlier:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdcHQ9HHu8U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viFmKsBxSbc

I'm kind of digging this stuff right now. Never gave it much time.

I saw SFA at a small (for them) club in Portland on the Hey Venus tour. 2008? 2009?

I was friends with the promoter, who knew that I was a huge fan, and as a result I found myself in their dressing room after the show.

This was notable for a few reasons:

First of all, they had a full DJ setup going... like, two turntables, PA, crates of records, and the band members were just taking turns spinning jams for themselves and their friends on this comically overpowered system in a dressing room slightly larger than a typical US hotel room.

And... there were bowls of weed *everywhere*. Not bowls as in pipes, or cereal bowls... but, like, the big metal mixing bowls you find in a restaurant kitchen, just *filled* with weed, like a half dozen of them. I've honestly never seen more marijuana anywhere on earth.

I ended up getting what was almost certainly the most stoned I've ever been in my entire life as SFA joyously spun records for hours, geeking out with them on their albums, laughing hysterically. It was the best time ever. SFA OK.

That's a great story. Their legendary weed consumption comes up in this documentary:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKT67LyDKvU

There's a small feature in the new Uncut. Cian basically says Das Koolies is the new band as far as he is concerned and not a side project. They have no plans to record a new SFA album and Das Koolies is their main focus. They apparently have enough material for three albums, of course they always say that kind of shit. Anyway, I guess you could read into the "new band" thing in a couple ways.

"It's not a side project, it's not a gap-filler, it's not something we're doing because we're waiting to do Super Furries things again. This is what we do now, basically."

Very much up for this album despite not caring for the single

How'd you like the B-side--if you've heard it?

Er, not blown away either but it's early days

Super Furry Ifans

https://superfurryanimals.bandcamp.com/track/of-no-fixed-identity

“Apathy only ruined me”!?

So, wait, have we never done an ILM artist poll of these guys?

Looks like the four lads, minus Gruff, are set to release some more stuff as Das Koolies. Posting some snips and snaps on their social media. I have to say I’m more interested in it than the new Gruff LP. Been a while since the other guys had their time to shine and I liked the first couple tracks well enough.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1349013979279758?mibextid=0NULKw&fs=e&s=TIeQ9V

https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/the-condemned-das-koolies/ouo028rq7ieea

Sounds like this is going to be a good antidote to Gruff’s sleepy balladeer persona.

So, wait, have we never done an ILM artist poll of these guys?

― Naive Teen Idol

I will do SFA in 2023. Was almost going to do it last year but opted to do the Police instead. I just feel like I'm going to need to prepare to do it properly.

i'm looking forward to that eventual poll

Awesome! Yeah, they’re a lot of work, done properly. There aren’t too many bands with as big of a catalogue we haven’t done at this point. Should be super exciting.

Also looking forward to that.

Me too. I've heard 80% of their output but been meaning to do a comprehensive listen through everything at some point

Fifth'd. They're one of my favourite bands ever

Well lads I lost interest many years back but you made me listen to Bad Behaviour this morning so fair play

They hit a wall when they recorded Love Kraft and Hey Venus!, but I’ll be damned if DD/LY isn’t one of their best albums as I view their great back catalog with loving eyes. It’s fun, a little shaggier, less rehearsed and clever. I so wish they’d known some folks really rated that album. I cherish it so much more than any Gruff Rhys solo album.

I’m ready for Das Koolies.

And as far as I’m concerned,Love Kraft has some righteously moody and endearing songs. They put a really odd, not very good single on it, a song based on a demo they’d been tossing around since the Guerrilla days- “Lazer Beam.”
Knock that and a couple other silly songs off the track list and the album’s got quite an interesting vibe.

Love Kraft and a Hey Venus! both have some really good tracks, but are very uneven and have some cringy moments. Agree that DD/LY is amazing and among their best.

DD/LY has Mt. on it, which might be one of the worst songs by an otherwise good band in the history of music, but the rest is good yes

right, I've actually skipped that one so often that I actually forgot it existed

“Mt.”‘isn’t great but Cian’s two post-SFA albums 12 people have listened to contain some pretty good, if not excellent, songs. I thought the non-Gruff guys were starting to write some pretty good songs in general, like “White Socks/Flip Flop.” Might’ve not carried the whole album, but always a treat when it comes on.

at the other end of the scale, guess which song invariably comes into my head every time I take a European city break, or go to Croydon

https://www.qobuz.com/nz-en/album/the-condemned-das-koolies/bzcatc2zmop5a

Looks like Das Koolies are finally a thing. New EP next month. Single tonight.

1.The Condemned 00:05:40
2. Dim Byd Mawr 00:07:22
3.You Killed My Robot 00:03:42
4. Grab a Slice 00:05:11

Might be the only person hyped as fuck for this right now, but I've been dying for some new SFA material since about 2009 so I'm going to take it.

I haven’t listened to it in a while, but I remember liking a lot of Lovekraft, especially the slower more introspective numbers. Didn’t like Lazerbeam or whatever and I always skipped Back On A Roll. Hated that song. l

Walk you home is a bop

"Back on a Roll" is a low light, but I generally really dig Bunf's songs. His voice is weird.

Love Kraft has great bookends and I do actually quite like Lazer Beam but much of the rest feels kind of bloated and anaemic. Hey Venus is anaemic without even being bloated, which is worse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL9Y2_4ztKM

As close to SFA as we’re going to get

SFA produced some great songs not fronted by Gruff. have yet to hear anything that rises above mediocrity from Das Koolies, though

I find some comfort hearing them pull out some of their tropes on that track, but it’s bubblegum at best. I dig it. Glad they didn’t pull a Boo Radleys and try to continue the facade of being the same band.

Another Ffa Coffi Pawb re-issue coming:

https://gruffrhys.bandcamp.com/album/dalec-peilon-2

Also (in semi-related news), Pete Fowler's Seahawks released a really nice album last week - that's the one I'd spend the dollars on if I had to pick between the two: https://oceanmoon.bandcamp.com/album/time-enough-for-love