Super Furry Animals
Dark Days/Light Years
Rough Trade Records
You know an album is going to be good when the opening track is called “Crazy Naked Girls.” That’s what Welsh goofy-rockers Super Furry Animals did on their latest, Dark Days/Light Years. They have managed to yet again create something that is accessible and completely original.
The opener is a rocker that erupts over and over again with lead singer Gruff Rhys singing in his expansive falsetto “Crazy, crazy naked girls!” And that’s it. It’s one of the best opening songs of the year. On “Mt.” they sound like the bastard child of The Doors as Rhys channels his best Jim Morrison singing about making a “molehill out of a mountain and banish[ing] all mountains,” while a string quartet plays over the moody ’70s rock. They stick with the ’70s theme on the poppy “Moped Eyes.” Each song from the brilliantly strange “The Very Best of Neil Diamond” to the straight-ahead rocker “Inconvenience” is completely different and uniquely wonderful.
That makes this is their most addictive album since Phantom Power. Rings Around the World was too experimental for the casual listener and Mwng, well, was entirely in Welsh and although they do break off into German on the insanely catchy “Inaugural Trams” the song could easily fit onto most radio stations. This is the perfect album to introduce to friends. But then bring them up to speed with their previous work, because they are going to want more after a couple of listens to this album. It gets more addictive with every spin. Super Furry Animals have been around for quite some time and they reinvent themselves on each album. Dark Days/Light Years is no different. Anyone who has not heard the Furries need look no further. It is catchy enough to hook any new listeners and still is able to keep the die-hards happy.
Super Furry Animals: http://www.superfurry.org
