SUPER FURRY ANIMALS

Cian Ciaran, the keyboard player, just released his album this past Monday. As a long-time fan, I am pleased and even a little bit shocked at how good it is. The LP is just as good as Gruff's solo efforts.

Here is the Spotify link: http://open.spotify.com/album/0br5g7CaWyvJnLZUsrdTmg

revisiting this after not listening to it since release: https://soundcloud.com/acid-casuals/alto-due-pugnali-e-mezzo

damn good track.

Surprisingly, Bunf seems to be the one with the freshest sounding side project: https://soundcloud.com/the-pale-blue-dots

https://soundcloud.com/the-pale-blue-dots/aquarium

Loving this stuff.

They've reunited...

Super Furry Animals may currently be on an extended hiatus, but the Welsh psych rock icons are aiming to be top of the hops with the launch of their own beer.

Produced in conjunction with the Celt Experience Brewery, members of the band will be stirring up a storm when their new beer – named Fuzzy (after their debut album Fuzzy Logic) is unveiled at a special event next month.

Those who love their beers can taste the new brew at the one-night only Fire Festival on Saturday, February 1. Billed as ‘a celebration of innovative craft beer, art and smokey food’, it will be held to celebrate the Celtic Experience’s new village development at its brewery on the Pontygwindy Estate in Caerphilly.

The Festival will include free samples of the brewery’s acclaimed craft beers and a live performance from the Super Furry Animals – a live brewing performance that is.

Gruff, Guto, Cian, Daf and Bunf – who have been pursuing their own projects since they released their last album Dark Days/Light Years in 2009, will put the finishing touches to their own collaborative beer, which will be available in pubs around Wales and chosen outlets in London in March.

Fuzzy Beer, follows the launch of Goldie Lookin’ Ale – a collaborative beer between Welsh rappers Goldie Lookin’ Chain and Newport-based Tiny Rebel Brewery last year.

“We’re making it with our own specially formulated recipe, although I can’t tell you what that is,” laughs Furries keyboard maestro Cian Ciaran.

“Me and Daf (SFA drummer Dafydd Ieuan) met Tom who owns the brewery last year and we all thought it would be a good idea to make our own Furry brew.”

Although the band won’t be playing live, several members of the group will DJ on the night.

to brew a beer. :\

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/welsh-rock-icons-super-furry-6530196

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHV_6H2hQnM

American Interior is to come in four formats – a 13-song album, to be released on 5 May, which will be Rhys's fourth solo album; a book, described as "a psychedelic historical travelogue in which Gruff traces Evans' incredible journey from North Wales to new Spain, alongside the tale of his own strange American road trip following in Evans's footsteps", which will be published in late May; a film directed by Dylan Goch, documenting Rhys's 2012 tour; and an app consisting of 100 entries telling Evans's story.

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jan/29/gruff-rhys-new-album-film-book-app

Loving the new Pale Blue Dots song:

https://soundcloud.com/the-pale-blue-dots/slow-reaction

Also got a new Gulp song this past week:

https://soundcloud.com/sonic-cathedral/gulp-seasoned-sun

Not been a bad year for SFA, if you're not looking for an actual SFA album.

Shocked, but not displeased, a publisher picked this up:

Rawlins, formerly digital editor of Artrocker, will document the story of the Welsh rock band's rise to iconic status.

The book, acquired by publishers The Friday Project, will tell the story of the band's time signed to Creation Records.

It will also cover their lavish marketing campaigns, which included equipping an army tank with a techno sound system and making plans to convert an aircraft carrier into a nightclub.

Lead singer Gruff Rhys said of the book: "Revolutionary, crazed and beautiful musical events and conversations that originally happened through the medium of a cracked youthful version of the Welsh language in the mid-nineties are presented here for the first time in quality English.

http://www.digitalspy.com/music/news/a577691/super-furry-animals-biography-for-release-in-2015.html#~oHu8lpFCxBKD8T

Also, new song by The Earth. It's really good:

https://soundcloud.com/strangetown-records/3-baby-bones

I had a feeling Ric would get something like this put out eventually, and given his passion and enthusiasm for the band it should be at the very least pretty good. Why he hasn't gone the whole hog and covered their Epic Records/Rough Trade years too is a huge mystery, though.

Vol 2

I just feel like there's, max, a dozen people out there that want to read this story. I'm not complaining, though. I've wanted an SFA book for years.

Gruff's book doesn't count.

Even though I care the least I probably ever have about this band right now, I'll definitely be still giving this book a read. Partly because I enjoy reading books of this ilk, and partly because I'm interested to see how much depth the book actually goes into. Hopefully I'll learn something new from it, or it'll give me a new perspective on albums and tracks I've played to death in the past. It'll be interesting to see how much it sells, too... I can't help but feel that the perfect time to do something like this would have been around the time of Songbook, and covering the years 1994-2004.

It would be annoying to put out the biography and then for them to reform five minutes later

Well, they're technically not broken up... And it seems likely they'll get together sooner than later. So that'll probably happen.

I wouldn't be fazed if they never got back together again to make music, and I wouldn't feel much of a loss either. At one point the thought of SFA splitting up would have been incredibly depressing, but I'm really unsure if they've got anything more to give.

I don't think they'll ever release an epic album that changes the world, but I think those days are behind any band any of us knows about. Hopefully their time apart has taught them some new tricks. I think it has, but I know you're not really fond of anything they've done since DD/LY.

The Friday Project picked up the last two Kristin Hersh album/books, it's not that much of a stretch for them

I guess you're right, 'cause I have no idea who that is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guYOL2FLpCA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcgMiyv05Tc

Gulp's Vast Space is currently streaming: http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2014/07/super_furry_ani_13.html

I meant Season Sun, the name of their album. Oops.

Gulp is officially out. You can listen on Spotify

Got to see Gruff in Manchester a couple weeks ago. It was one of the best live performances I've ever been to, and he was all on his own. The show was equal parts lecture and music performance. I never realized how naturally charming and funny he is.

In other news: https://soundcloud.com/strangetown-records/sets/the-earth-keltic-voodoo-boogaloo

The Earth's second LP is streaming. The Earth is Daf's band. Someone from Catatonia is also in the band. I know people around here hate Catatonia. The Earth's front woman also sings for the band Slowly Rolling Camera. I think this is a pretty decent record. It's a lot better than the first one.

https://soundcloud.com/strangetown-records/sets/the-pale-blue-dots-lots-of/s-eSrBc

Bunf's new album is streaming.

The Pale Blue Dots' new album is no longer streaming, but some new tracks available for stream. The album comes out next Monday (digital only). The Pale Blue Dots are also in session on Marc Riley tonight:

https://soundcloud.com/strangetown-records/reach-for-the-keys

https://soundcloud.com/strangetown-records/devastation

https://soundcloud.com/strangetown-records/slow-reaction

Some words from a website called Clash Music:

http://www.clashmusic.com/news/track-of-the-day-2110-the-pale-blue-dots

The ongoing hiatus of Super Furry Animals has dulled one of the most potent psych-pop voices around.

Thankfully, it has allowed the various members of the Welsh ensemble to engage in all manner of weird and wonderful projects.

Huw 'Bunf' Bunford is the band's lead guitarist, but recently struck up a friendship with composer Richard Chester.

Swapping ideas, the pair quickly descended into the studio to lay down some of fragments on tap. Piecing the whole thing together, The Pale Blue Dots were born.

Matching psychedelic flourishes against sweeping arrangements, a Bowie strut with lush harmonies, the project's debut album 'Lots Of Dots' is forthcoming.

Bunf says: "This is our Jekyll and Hyde moment. We love pop music, but we also like to lie down, listen to something, and not have to get up to press 'next track' for at least half an hour. The album definitely has a number of songs that could find themselves on the radio, but over the coming months we’re looking to take people on a journey into sound. By distributing found sounds online, and forming new compositions using archive material, The Pale Blue Dots is going to set out to demonstrate the pure pleasure in just listening."

Also, a new Cian Ciaran single came out a couple weeks ago:

https://soundcloud.com/strangetown-records/sets/ciaran-wilding

The first track is a cover of a song by an artist I'd never heard of before. The second track features that artist's vocals. I actually kind of prefer the second track

I get the feeling no one around here cares about this stuff, but I hope someone out there might. I still see the odd "SFA ARE THE BEST BAND EVER" on the internet, so I hope this news reaches someone.

Not bad tunes in the Love Kraft vein, but pretty inessential. Damn, I miss this band.

Don't think it's happening until Gruff stops making his own albums. Everyone else in the band is recording and producing their albums together.

Hi! I'm a lurker and a regular visitor to ilxor and this thread in particular. Super Furry Animals were and still are one of my favourite bands ever since I heard Mark Radcliffe play Hometown Unicorn on his late night BBC Radio One show. I can remembering him marvelling at the guitar solo on the song.

I've really enjoyed watching Gruff's solo shows since his first solo record, he's become a really engaging and entertaining performer. I wonder if the band got back together again would the live shows be a lot more interesting than they used to be. I can remember a show on the Phantom Power tour being a bit hard going with too many slow and midpaced songs all in a row.

I'm looking forward to hearing Bunf's record and am hoping that it gets released on vinyl or at least CD, the clips I've heard sound great. From that Clash interview it sounds like they're trying to do something interesting.

ha! i was just subjecting my coworkers to Love Kraft and Hey Venus yesterday!

Calimero, I agree that Gruff's solo show is a lot better than many of the SFA shows I've been to. Two of his shows were some of the most memorable I've ever been to. The first one was a Candylion show that also featured Tony Da Gatorra. He also had some other guys on stage with him. I'm not sure who they were.

The second one was his totally solo American Interior show. My wife, who has almost zero interest in Gruff or SFA, enjoyed the American Interior show as much as I did. He really refined his act for general consumption. I wish I'd seen him with Y Niwl and Kliph Scurlock backing him, but I still loved it.

SFA are very stationary and ehearsed and also rely a lot on backing tracks. That's been my issue with their shows in the past. I've still seen a couple really memorable shows. The one where they wore those fiber optic boiler suits was awesome.

I also saw Gruff on the recent American Interior tour in a church, there was a drum kit and amps behind him which made me think Kliph and Y Niwl would join him at one point. It turned out the gear was for the church band! Despite this disappointment it was a great show, the songs sounded fine without a band, and Gruff was an entertaining and interesting storyteller.

I didn't really appreciate Yr Atal Genhedlaeth until I saw Gruff play a gig for it a few months later and then saw how he builds up the title track. It was interesting to see him play it again, and slightly differently, on this recent tour.

Like your wife, my partner had zero interest in the band, but now loves him after seeing a few of his gigs, the two films and an American Interior q&a. I don't think that would have happened if I'd taken her to a few regular SFA shows!

Gulp and The Earth recently played my town but I will was too lazy to see them, has anyone here seen either of the two bands live?

I have not seen either band. I hear Gulp is pretty good live. There are a couple nice videos online. I'm sure it's a lot more stationary than a Gruff show. I don't know much about The Earth, but I will say I really enjoyed their new album (I said that already, I think). It sounds much fuller and more varied than their first LP. I know it's not an essential release, and the vocals aren't going to pull in a lot of SFA fans, but I recommend it.

Strangetown, the record label that's put out all this other stuff, just sent .wavs of the new Pale Blue Dots album. It's unfortunately extremely short (under half an hour), but I love the whole thing. I never knew how much Bunf contributed to the band's sound. I always kind of at Gruff and Cian as the holy alliance. Honestly, The Pale Blue Dots' album comes closest to capturing the sound I fell in love with so many years ago. I understand that they are going to record more songs in the studio, so I guess Lots of Dots is more of an EP than an LP. There is an odd dance-y track with Bunf on lead vocals at the end of the album that I did not expect to like, but I can't get it out of my head.

I guess I have to give Richard Chester some credit, too. There are some great strings on the album.

I always kind of viewed*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y22dwqhMXSU

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p029nbdr

The Pale Blue Dots sounded kind of rough on their first outing, but they'd only rehearsed the night before. I enjoyed Daf coming in with his "Ice Hockey Hair" drums every couple minutes.

Yeah, I've had a similar new found appreciation for Bunf's contribution to the band. These days I'm able to recognise his voice more easily!

I never realized how prominent Cian's voice is on certain songs. Take for instance "Chewing Chewing Gum." It's almost his first lead vocal.

The Pale Blue Dots' album is streaming again (it's officially out today):

https://soundcloud.com/strangetown-records/sets/the-pale-blue-dots-lots-of

I stole a fuse from their tank at Phoenix Festival 1996. Not many bands you can say that about tbh,

Can we just say they've split up now yet?

If gruff embarks on another multimedia extravagnza, sure. All the rest of them are recording, producing and releasing their music together.

Can we just say they've split up now yet?

― PaulTMA, Tuesday, November 4, 2014 12:46 AM (21 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

In my mind, they pretty much have.

I'm still in denial. If they announced it, it would feel like when Supergrass split up. A band that always seemed to be there putting out good to great albums every couple of years. Both bands that make me incredibly nostalgic.

If they were split it up, wouldn't they just say they're split up? Gruff keeps insisting there'll be a 10th album.

From what it sounds like, it doesn't seem like any of the band members have or are aware of any concrete plans for Super Furry Animals, and none of them seem particularly enthusiastic about it either, which makes me feel that the ship as sailed. I can't help but get the impression that there's a gulf between Gruff and the rest of the band, too. If they have split up and they're keeping quiet about it, then that's somewhat of a shrewd move, really. People will be more accepting of/tolerate even the shittiest of solo products if they feel a new Super Furry Animals album is eventually going to happen: like "hmm, yeah, okay this Neon Neon/Cian/Earth/Pale Blue Dots album is a bit shit, but that's okay, they'll get around to giving us the real stuff soon". Remember also that Blur never actually announced that they'd "split up" either following Think Tank, but they may as well have done for all that's happened since.

I'm still in denial. If they announced it, it would feel like when Supergrass split up. A band that always seemed to be there putting out good to great albums every couple of years. Both bands that make me incredibly nostalgic.

― Kitchen Person, Tuesday, November 4, 2014 10:50 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

When Supergrass split up, my overall feeling was one of unrealised potential. As good as records like In It For The Money and Road To Rouen are, I still think they had a lot more ground to cover and a lot left to explore as a unit. The album they were working on when they split, Release The Drones sounded very promising.

By comparison, I think the Super Furry Animals have explored every avenue they possibly can together. I honestly don't see where else they could possibly go from here. It would be a good time to leave it, I think. They've already released 10 records if you count Out Spaced as a "proper" album, anyway.

Gruff's certainly drawn more attention to himself, with his most critically-acclaimed album and a fantastic stage show. The rest of the guys clearly have their work set out for them. we'll agree to disagree on the quality of the other side projects, though I've never been a neon neon fan.

Can't say much about Supergrass. I always found them pretty slight. "Alright" is a nice song and their self-titled album seemed to draw more flack than it deserved. I kind of left them behind. I know most that read this thread probably rate SFA similarly, but that's life.

New das Koolies album is very nice.

I'm enjoying this!

Much more digestible runtime vs. first album, going a lot further into house and acid textures, crisp and pleasant sound design. The vocals and hooks are still frustratingly uncommitted-sounding; I still yearn for a return to more focused SFA-style songwriting. But I guess that ship has sailed at this point.

I would like them to add a verse or two to the songs with the really repetitive vocal hooks. “White Star” is gorgeous but the vocal tires me out.

I like the really brash stuff like Spider City, Music Machine, Ogov Gokh. They’ve picked up a load of sounds and production tricks that have me salivating over SFA’s return.

Would be nice to hear Gruff write a song to this type of music. They've got a great sound and have been lots of fun, but the repetition and lack of structure seems more apparent on LP2 to me.

el gato tueto = afriendlypioneer?

Calling it now, SFA 30 tour next year

The great Love Kraft reunion tour.

That'd be even better

They should do a Lazer Beam rewrite on the next Das Koolies album. Think they could pull it off now.

Yeah I thought it was a shame when they stopped working on it

“Music Machine” on the new one was an Acid Casuals track. It was also on a throwaway demos disc with a laser beam instrumental. I assume it was a das Koolies recording at one point. Why be snarky, sir?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a_87I8nxe8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvyPrlYPm0Q

New Bandsplain ep on “The Man Don’t Give a Fuck”. Haven’t listened yet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIO0BM6i6IE

The legendary Gruff Rhys returns with "Dim Probs", his ninth solo album, fourth Welsh language long player, and first release through Rock Action Records. Released; 12th of September.
Featuring fellow Welsh artists Cate Le Bon and H. Hawkline on backing vocals, and produced with Ali Chant (Yard Act/PJ Harvey), Dim Probs echoes the warmth and closeness of Gruff's career defining first solo album (2005's your Atal Genhedlaeth) and the stargazing melancholy of 2021's Seeking New Gods. Written and performed entirely in Welsh/Cymraeg, Dim Probs places the listener side by side with one of the country's greatest and most thoughtful songwriters in the corner of a studio as the songs grow around them from just voice and guitar. The result is an intimate and hypnotic record that mixes acoustic folk with whatever scratchy, primitive electronic machines come to hand on each track. One listen? Dim probs indeed!
Produced with a heavyweight outer (350gsm) and inner sleeve with lyrics
Tracklisting:

1) Pan Ddaw'r Haul I Fore
2) Cân I'r Cymylau
3) Saf Ar Dy Sedd
4) Taro #1 + #2
5) Dos Amdani
6) Chwyn Chwyldroadol!
7) Cyflafan
8) Dim Probs
9) Adar Gwyn
10) Gadael Fi Fynd
11) Slaw
12) Acw

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FBL8KS8G/

Get in!

I've grown fascinated by Lazer Beam for some reason. Always the dog of the SFA singles pile. Yet, with the context of Das Koolies in my brain, it suddenly kind of works. Maybe it's the 5.1 mix?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t7vz-vNtm4

All the silly squelches underpinning a cosmic hoedown strings and a completely silly lyrical conceit, you think to yourself, "There's no other band in the universe that makes music that sounds like this."

It may not be their actual best but it will probably always be my fave SFA album. I am pleased to learn from seeing various postings elsewhere I am not entirely alone these days with this view

I think it’s brilliant 20 years later. At the time it felt like 3 “ballad-filled” SFA albums was a move in the wrong direction, but it’s actually pretty strange and very much SFA in all the right ways. There are a couple weak tracks but they’re a lot less offensive than I felt when I was 20 years younger. I’m looking forward to the B-sides if there’s anything left to release.

Did not expect to see Cian Ciarán co-credited on a Mexican single.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx6DwBJY0S8

The legacy of "Chupacabra" all these years later!

https://pata.pet/p/super-furry-animals-clydebank-6m34bl5qadex

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81exw0FyKjL.jpg

https://www.soundofviolence.net/actu/news/46168/une_nouvelle_reedition_pour_super_furry_animals.html

CD1 / Digital
1. Zoom! (2025 Remaster)
2. Atomik Lust (2025 Remaster)
3. The Horn (2025 Remaster)
4. Ohio Heat (2025 Remaster)
5. Walk You Home (2025 Remaster)
6. Lazer Beam (2025 Remaster)
7. Frequency (2025 Remaster)
8. Oi Frango (2025 Remaster)
9. Psyclone! (2025 Remaster)
10. Back On A Roll (2025 Remaster)
11. Cloudberries (2025 Remaster)
12. Cabin Fever (2025 Remaster)
13. Sunny Seville (2025 Remaster)
14. Rock 'n' Roll Flu (2025 Remaster)
15. Never More (2025 Remaster)
16. Colonise The Moon (2025 Remaster)

CD2 / Digital : Kiss Me With Apocalypse
1. Zoom! (Stiwdio Ofn Demo)
2. Atomik Lust (Pleasure Foxxx Demo)
3. The Horn (Pleasure Foxxx Demo)
4. Ohio Heat (Stiwdio Ofn Demo)
5. Lazer Beam (Pleasure Foxxx Demo)
6. Frequency (Stiwdio Ofn Demo)
7. Oi Frango (Pleasure Foxxx Demo)
8. Psyclone! The SFA cut (Pleasure Foxxx Demo)
9. Back On A Roll (Pleasure Foxxx Demo)
10. Cabin Fever (Pleasure Foxxx Demo)
11. Cae Marw (Pleasure Foxxx Demo)
12. The Gateway Song (Stiwdio Ofn Demo)
13. Rock 'N' Roll Flu (Pleasure Foxxx Demo)
14. Never More (Pleasure Foxxx Demo)
15. Palo Alto (Pleasure Foxxx Demo)
16. These Bones (Pleasure Foxxx Demo)
17. Bing Bong (Stiwdio Ofn Demo)
18. Bedw Arian (Pleasure Foxxx Demo)
19. The Gateway Song (Rough Mix)
20. Psyclone! (Future Force)
21. Psyclone! (The Flaming Lips)
22. Zoom! (Uncut Master Take)

Looks like it's been moved to late October. Solid looking track list.

The new Gulp album is top notch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZfRlzQwe08

Wind-tousled life on the east coast of Scotland, the unhurried cultivation of sound and the warm feeling that everything might be alright in the end combine to enchant on Gulp’s latest single, Hope Shines Through The Haar. Shimmering into view as the band announces a third album, Beneath Strawberry Moons, the combined inspirations of Lindsey Leven and Guto Pryce are supplemented by the musicianship of Andrew Wasylyk as the stomach-butterflies of optimism flutter around and the lapping foams of the band’s ethereal, folkish psych-pop.

Musician and multi-media artist, Leven rejoins Pryce, who traces faintly around the simmering offbeat sounds of his life as a Super Furry Animal (as well as part of Das Koolies and The Pictish Trail), and supporting bandmates, Gid Goundrey (guitar) and Stuart Kidd (drums), for Gulp’s third album. The nine-track Beneath Strawberry Moons, released via ELK Records, follows their 2014 debut, Season Sun, released with Sonic Cathedral and the acclaimed All Good Wishes, which arrived four years later. Extending the gestation of a complete, new collection of work to seven years, accounting for the pair’s relocation from Pryce’s native Cardiff, Beneath Strawberry Moons emerges as a minimal-carbon-footprint, hyperlocal album, created amongst friends with no deadlines between Piggery Studio and the duo’s garden cabin in North East Fife.

Describing their surrounds as ‘idyllic’ and responding artistically to the significant life change, that has brought energy and release, Leven describes the album as “in the most part a love letter to this new way of life”, celebrating space, love, connection and time, cut with an underlying awareness of the fragility of this beauty. Having leaked new material, the cinematic showdown of Always So Far, back in May, the choice of Hope Shines Through The Haar as Gulp’s first single since 2018 links the pair’s delicately charged sense of abundant possibility, Scotland’s heritage and their bracing proximity to the sea.

https://gulp1.bandcamp.com/album/beneath-strawberry-moons

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iI_k0YExFz4

Dim Probs is excellent.

Something possibly happening? Posters have gone up in Cardiff with a QR code to sign up

Something is stirring in @superfurry world and many people are getting very excitedhttps://t.co/rpUqbVszuB

— Nation.Cymru (@NationCymru) September 26, 2025

Just saw a poster in London for Brixton academy show in may - 'Taith Supacabra Tour'

I am hopeful they find it within themselves to record some music, though I’m expecting a deeper dive into their music on this tour with Love Kraft only just being reissued. They were actually pretty brilliant when they toured that album and a lot of those songs sounded great live. Would sound even better with a little live orchestration.

Das Koolies have been a blast. I know these guys still have good music left to make.

Yep xp

22 May

I'm absolutely delighted for a tour and no more, but feel a new album could be in them.. unsure we're getting it next year, though (would be fun if that was wrong of course)

i would be extremely excited about a new album but i think the rumour is that the tour is to mark the 30th anniversary of fuzzy logic so i'm not getting my hopes up

Pre sale tickets available Wednesday

Sign up here:

https://superfurry.com/

According to Gruff’s Instagram, its a career spanning set. I hope we hear more off Rings through Love Kraft, maybe get one of the more Motorik-inspired tracks from Dark Days for a little fun. Their sets tended to get a bit samey near the end.

Rock 'n Roll Flu, one of the previously unreleased tracks on the Love Kraft reissue is now out.

Not sure if it's actually from the Love Kraft sessions as it sounds more Guerilla

It sounds a bit like these two from the Hey Venus! b-side collection:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJiYFf00S80

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcuHQ2nhDco

There’s a fairly lengthy interview with the band in the new Uncut. No real revelations, but they mention that Sony dropping them while they were promoting Love Kraft was sort of the beginning of major financial issues and an inability to record “big albums,” which set them back and probably led to the pause. They sound really happy to be together again and talk about some pretty obscure tracks for the coming live shows; they don’t even really remember a lot of their songs, it turns out.

The demos on this release are some of their best. Interesting to hear the songs without the extra strings, etc. Some solid harmonizing all around. They sound like they're having a blast, honestly.

Nice Balearic vibes on this Richard Norris remix of Gulp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FscXa9fHwOo

man i didn't realise they actually went bankrupt near the end of their original run

They were not a band who did things on the cheap, that's for certain

https://i.ibb.co/2YMwgnK7/IMG-7684.jpg

I think you’ll find me at this one.

Yes, I've just booked a pre-sale ticket for this.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DUp1orRjizC/

Early years comp Precreation Percolation coming in May featuring previous unreleased material including this one with Rhys Ifans on vocals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nth8jdyseD4

Hoping there’s something less scented with mothballs next time they announce a release.

https://media.brooklynvegan.com/xxrzsfjkyw/uploads/2026/02/20/Super-Furry-Animals_Precreation-Percolation_1400px_72dpi.webp

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Indie Basement (5/1): the week in classic indie, alternative & college rock
Bill Pearis
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May 1, 2026
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It’s a whopper of a week as I review 10 albums, including a couple of fantastic ones: Weird Nightmare (Alex Edkins of METZ) and Kneecap‘s second album, FENIAN. There’s also a new one from both The Boo Radleys and their former guitarist/leader Martin Carr, the first Seefeel album in 15 years, the most unexpected Laibach record of their career, new LPs from Modern Woman and Cindy, and a compilation of rare early Super Furry Animals material.

Over in Notable Releases, there are new albums from American Football, Kacey Musgraves, and more.

On this week’s episode of BV Interviews, I talk to Jose Gonzalez.

Other news from this week readers of Indie Basement might be interested in: Nick Thorburn (Islands/Unicorns) and Mike Stroud (Ratatat) have formed a new band; and Dutch band Lewsberg are no more (boo!) but vocalist Arie Van Vliet has a new group already (yay!).

Head below for all of this week’s reviews…

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ALBUM OF THE WEEK #1: Weird Nightmare – Hoopla (Sub Pop)
METZ frontman Alex Edkins makes ultra-hooky punky power-pop on his second album as Weird Nightmare. It’s non-stop noisy earworms

“The intention is to get straight to that endorphin rush that comes with a hook or a chorus, and just not overcomplicate the songs,” says Alex Edkins, who spent 17 years getting his angst and aggression out while blowing eardrums in Toronto’s METZ. During COVID, he explored his more melodic side on a homemade lo-fi solo album released as Weird Nightmare. With METZ ceasing operations in 2024, Weird Nightmare became a full band, and with Hoopla Edkins shows what he can really do in a pop format.

Taking cues from Pixies, Cheap Trick, The Beatles, Buzzcocks, and Teenage Fanclub, Hoopla is a precision-engineered hook delivery device, overflowing with fist-pump choruses, soaring harmonies, killer riffs, twin leads, and other pleasure-center button pushers. It’s a natural progression from METZ’s final album, Up on Gravity Hill, which was in turn influenced by the first Weird Nightmare album. For those who loved Edkins’ former band, he hasn’t turned things down much. Hoopla was made with Spoon’s Jim Eno in the producer’s chair at Seth Manchester’s Machines With Magnets studio and recorded mostly live, so it’s still got that buzzsaw roar — just this time kept a notch shy of ear-bleeding. It’s a sugar rush and a smack to the face all in one.

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ALBUM OF THE WEEK #2: Kneecap – FENIAN (Heavenly)
The Irish rap trio pour a year’s worth of trouble and controversy into their confident second studio album that is miles better than their debut and loaded with bangers

Irish rap trio Kneecap have been no strangers to controversy since Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, and DJ Próvaí formed the group in 2017, but the last year has been one firestorm after another. The group have become a magnet for outrage over festival appearances and things said onstage — including vocal support for Palestine in the war on Gaza — drawing ire from everyone from Sharon Osbourne to John Lydon and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. It’s resulted in co-founder Mo Chara being arrested on terrorism charges (which were dismissed), their US booking agency dropping them, and being banned from Canada.

With a constant stream of headlines, you may have forgotten that Kneecap make music, but there’s no denying their talent on their fierce, fantastic second album. Troubles have long fueled the Irish spirit, and Kneecap pour everything that’s happened to them into FENIAN. They take no prisoners, addressing those who look to silence them head-on, mixing invective sloganeering, strident, informed politics, their signature humor, and newfound maturity into their dizzying blend of Irish and English.

FENIAN sets it all to a storming mix of ’90s dance influences and more modern hip hop production, courtesy of DJ Próvaí and producer Dan Carey. There are techno/acid house bangers (“Liar’s Tale,” “Big Bad Mo”), trip-hop mood pieces (“Carnival,” “Palestine,” which features Palestinian rapper FAWZI), drum & bass (“Headcase”), and even a little bloghouse via the album’s shoutalong title track, which samples, of all things, Norwegian indie band Casiokids’ early single “Fot i hose.”

The album closes with “Irish Goodbye,” Móglaí Bap’s moving tribute to his mother, who died by suicide in 2020. Featuring an empathetic verse from Kae Tempest, it’s also a song about remembering the good amidst something terrible — which you could say about all of FENIAN.

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Seefeel – Sol.Hz (Warp)
These Warp-signed UK post-rock experimentalists return with a deeper, more ambient take on their signature sound on their first album in 15 years

One of the leading lights of the electronic side of post-rock in the ’90s, Seefeel slipped out of sight in 1996 after a handful of classic EPs and albums, resurfacing briefly in the late ’00s, long enough to release another EP and album. Another decade-long absence ended in 2024 when Seefeel, now primarily Mark Clifford, released Everything Squared. Two years later they’re back with their first album in 15 years.

The electronic rhythms that punctuated their early records are largely absent on Sol.Hz, leaving mostly ethereal ambience and pulsing sub-bass. It feels like you’re hearing echoes of a rave from the ocean’s surface while sitting at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, as glowing sea life — and Sarah Peacock’s otherworldly voice — drifts eerily around you. Transfixing sounds for your next sensory deprivation tank excursion.

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Modern Woman - Johnny’s Dreamworld

Modern Woman – Johnny’s Dreamworld (One Little Independent)
The debut album from this arty, dramatic London indie rock outfit mixes delicate folk, soaring pop and crashing post-punk

Led by singer-songwriter Sophie Harris, London band Modern Woman have been around since the start of the decade, notably with UK festival End of the Road launching their own record label with the band’s 2021 debut single. Five years later, Modern Woman are now signed to Björk’s label, One Little Independent, and have finally released their debut album.

Johnny’s Dreamworld is an interesting mix of post-punk, delicate folk, art rock, and just enough pop to guide you through the whole thing. (It also sports my favorite cover art of 2026 so far.) Harris’ charisma and commanding voice are front and center, guiding the formidable talents of the rest of the band — violinist David Deyner, drummer Adam Blackhurst, and bassist Juan Brint-Gutiérrez — through stormy seas and moments of intense joy, all windswept and swaddled in strings.

This is the kind of album that makes you immediately want to see the band live. Songs like “Killing a Dog,” “Neptune’s Girl,” and “Dashboard Mary” are visceral emotional rollercoaster rides that feel like they might jump the tracks but never do, leaving you anxious to get back on and experience the thrill again.

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Laibach – MUSICK (Mute)
Slovenian industrial legends team with ’00s-era pop producer Richard X (Annie, Sugababes) for the weirdest album of their 42-year career

Slovenian industrial icons Laibach say the title to their new album MUSICK is a reference to the sheer amount of music uploaded to streaming services every day (somewhere around 100,000 tracks), and the increasing amount of it that is AI slop. It’s a duality: both “sick of music” and a reflection of their “pathological devotion” to the band. With that in mind, Laibach have given us one of their most twisted, perverse creations in a 40+ year career full of them: a full-on pop album.

To do so, they enlisted producer Richard X — who has worked with Annie, Sugababes, Goldfrapp, and Saint Etienne — to help realize their neon-lit, shiny plastic vision. Of course, this is still Laibach, so glossy dance-pop creations like “Fluid Emancipation,” “Love Machine,” and “Keep It Real” retain the group’s martial, metallic tendencies while borrowing from Mozart, Pachelbel, and other classical composers. And pulling things in an entirely different direction is Milan Fras’ guttural baritone, growling affirmations like “Free your mind” as more of an order than a suggestion. Then there’s “Luigi Mangione,” which is the biggest bait here and the most Laibach-sounding song on the album.

As a piece of art, MUSICK is effective and fun, though how much enjoyment the average algorithm follower will find here remains to be seen.

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Super Furry Animals – Precreation Percolation (Strangetown Records)
The Welsh indie greats compile their earliest material, including songs from when House of the Dragon star Rhys Ifans was briefly their lead singer

Super Furry Animals are coming out of hibernation for their first tour in a decade next week, and while that’s so far only happening in the UK, the band do have something for fans around the world. Precreation Percolation collects their earliest EPs and singles, plus rare recordings from a time when they weren’t sure whether they were going to be an indie guitar band or a psychedelic electronic rave act. There are also tracks from when their singer was Rhys Ifans, before he decided to move to Hollywood and become an actor and star in movies with Julia Roberts.

Never ones to shy away from a pun, Precreation Percolation is a fitting title, as all the songs here date from before they got signed to Creation Records, including their first two EPs for Welsh label Ankst, both released in 1995.

Sorry, only meant to post the SFA part

Super Furry Animals – Precreation Percolation (Strangetown Records)

The Welsh indie greats compile their earliest material, including songs from when House of the Dragon star Rhys Ifans was briefly their lead singer

Super Furry Animals are coming out of hibernation for their first tour in a decade next week, and while that’s so far only happening in the UK, the band do have something for fans around the world. Precreation Percolation collects their earliest EPs and singles, plus rare recordings from a time when they weren’t sure whether they were going to be an indie guitar band or a psychedelic electronic rave act. There are also tracks from when their singer was Rhys Ifans, before he decided to move to Hollywood and become an actor and star in movies with Julia Roberts.

Never ones to shy away from a pun, Precreation Percolation is a fitting title, as all the songs here date from before they got signed to Creation Records, including their first two EPs for Welsh label Ankst, both released in 1995.

The Quietus review is nice. Lots of interesting information about the band.

https://thequietus.com/quietus-reviews/reissue-of-the-week/super-furry-animals-return-precreation-percolation/

Great piece — a full feature, not just a review (but a thorough review once it gets there, too)