Customer Reviews

Hey Venus!

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First off, I was hooked after first hearing Rings Around The World. I've collected everything since. I will say, Hey Venus!, took a little getting use to. But once I did, I realized the brillance that is. Every listening reaps rewards, if you are willing to devote the time. Musically? Sharp, concise, hook-laden, funky, weird, little tunes. I hear Beach Boys. I hear chilled out 70's-type soul music. I hear early glam. But there is no mistaking, this is Super Furry Animals. That's what makes it so enjoyable. If you dig SFA, you'll dig this. If you are "on the Fence", prolly not. You're choice.

A surprising number of reviewers are panning this album. Are we listening to the same thing? I would put this right up there with the groups best work. For the record, my all-time favorite SFA album has to be Rings Around the World, but there is not s dud in the bunch.

Venus is a good follow-up to Love Kraft, another album that many did not like. Both are excellently crafted sonic experiences. Hey Venus! is supposed to be a loosely based concept album and I get it, but it works for me just as well on a song by song basis, especially since it is so short (36 minutes!). But then again keep most tracks at 4 minutes or well under keeps them from getting old. I get a bit of a retro vibe al la, the Beach Boys and the Beatles, but this is still very much SFA, thank you very much. Production quality is off the charts, and the tracks are the whole are upbeat and mellow.

Mine is the USA release with the bonus disc containing 4 extra tracks (Never More, Aluminum Illuminati, These Bones, That's What I'm Talking About). Unlike the main album, I can see why these tracks are relegated to a bonus disc. Nothing really bad about them, but as a whole they are not as catch or interesting as the primary album tracks. Still nice to have though.

There are also two videos on the bonus disc. One shows the Animals having fun in the studio laying down some tracks (Sweet Soundboard Batman!). The other is a video for the song Run-Away. I like the song, but I can't say I really care for the video.

Overall, Hey Venus! is a worthy SFA album, with some minor niggles. The main 11 tracks grabbed me at first listen and keep growing on me with each new listen.Thanks guys. I could pretty much take or leave the bonus disc though, but I will probably burn the 4 tracks into a playlist with the others so I'm glad I have it. Solid 4-star experience.

BTW, I for one dig the funky cover art. Lyrics and other info is one side of a 6 panel fold-out, while the other has two 3 panel mini-posters. I have a feeling that if I look at it long enough, some secrets will be revealed...

I won't bother with a track-by-track breakdown, as that's been done, but I will say I've listened to this four times now in two days and I love it more with each play. At 36 minutes, it's a bit short, but on the other hand, it's over before it overstays it's welcome, which probably leads to the repeated playings. Sure it's a bit mellower than much of their previous catalog, but the melodies are strong, the mood is uplifting, and as with almost all SFA's catalog, it will leave you feeling a little better and more at peace with the world - what more can you ask? I'm sure there will be bonus tracks released on various international singles over the next few months, and I will be looking for them all.

I've been looking forward to this album for ages and have to say I'm gutted! I'm a massive SFA fan and think their last three albums are great with moments of pure genius. What's happened to the psychadelic synths and strings? What's happened to the crystal clear and beautiful production? Is it to do with moving labels and budget cuts? This sounds like a demo and lacks the imagination and creativity SFA normally has oozing out of it (with exception of Eightball).

SFA are the most imaginative and creative band around - no doubt- plus one of the hottest and most entertaining live bands to boot - but I'm disappointed to say they've let us down on this one. SFA please sort out whatever is going on in the studio and get back to producing such gems as: the man don't give a feck (unbelievable live), lazer beam (a slice of psychadelic funk magic), frequency, pcyclone, slow life, golden retreiver, rings, run christian run, shoot doris day, not the end of the world, hello sunshine et al.

Also what's with the artwork - get back with Fowler, he's a genius and compliments SFA wonderfully.

((This review is for the USA release w/bonus disc))

A surprising number of reviewers are panning this album. Are we listening to the same thing? I would put this right up there with the groups best work. For the record, my all-time favorite SFA album has to be Rings Around the World, but there is not s dud in the bunch.

Venus is a good follow-up to Love Kraft, another album that many did not like. Both are excellently crafted sonic experiences. Hey Venus! is supposed to be a loosely based concept album and I get it, but it works for me just as well on a song by song basis, especially since it is so short (36 minutes!). But then again keep most tracks at 4 minutes or well under keeps them from getting old. I get a bit of a retro vibe al la, the Beach Boys and the Beatles, but this is still very much SFA, thank you very much. Production quality is off the charts, and the tracks are the whole are upbeat and mellow.

Mine is the USA release with the bonus disc containing 4 extra tracks (Never More, Aluminum Illuminati, These Bones, That's What I'm Talking About). Unlike the main album, I can see why these tracks are relegated to a bonus disc. Nothing really bad about them, but as a whole they are not as catch or interesting as the primary album tracks. Still nice to have though.

There are also two videos on the bonus disc. One shows the Animals having fun in the studio laying down some tracks (Sweet Soundboard Batman!). The other is a video for the song Run-Away. I like the song, but I can't say I really care for the video.

Overall, Hey Venus! is a worthy SFA album, with some minor niggles. The main 11 tracks grabbed me at first listen and keep growing on me with each new listen.Thanks guys. I could pretty much take or leave the bonus disc though, but I will probably burn the 4 tracks into a playlist with the others so I'm glad I have it. Solid 4-star experience.

BTW, I for one dig the funky cover art. Lyrics and other info is one side of a 6 panel fold-out, while the other has two 3 panel mini-posters. I have a feeling that if I look at it long enough, some secrets will be revealed...

((This review is for the USA release w/bonus disc))

A surprising number of reviewers are panning this album. Are we listening to the same thing? I would put this right up there with the groups best work. For the record, my all-time favorite SFA album has to be Rings Around the World, but there is not s dud in the bunch.

Venus is a good follow-up to Love Kraft, another album that many did not like. Both are excellently crafted sonic experiences. Hey Venus! is supposed to be a loosely based concept album and I get it, but it works for me just as well on a song by song basis, especially since it is so short (36 minutes!). But then again keep most tracks at 4 minutes or well under keeps them from getting old. I get a bit of a retro vibe al la, the Beach Boys and the Beatles, but this is still very much SFA, thank you very much. Production quality is off the charts, and the tracks are the whole are upbeat and mellow.

Mine is the USA release with the bonus disc containing 4 extra tracks (Never More, Aluminum Illuminati, These Bones, That's What I'm Talking About). Unlike the main album, I can see why these tracks are relegated to a bonus disc. Nothing really bad about them, but as a whole they are not as catch or interesting as the primary album tracks. Still nice to have though.

There are also two videos on the bonus disc. One shows the Animals having fun in the studio laying down some tracks (Sweet Soundboard Batman!). The other is a video for the song Run-Away. I like the song, but I can't say I really care for the video.

Overall, Hey Venus! is a worthy SFA album, with some minor niggles. The main 11 tracks grabbed me at first listen and keep growing on me with each new listen.Thanks guys. I could pretty much take or leave the bonus disc though, but I will probably burn the 4 tracks into a playlist with the others so I'm glad I have it. Solid 4-star experience.

BTW, I for one dig the funky cover art. Lyrics and other info is one side of a 6 panel fold-out, while the other has two 3 panel mini-posters. I have a feeling that if I look at it long enough, some secrets will be revealed...

((This review is for the USA release w/bonus disc))

A surprising number of reviewers are panning this album. Are we listening to the same thing? I would put this right up there with the groups best work. For the record, my all-time favorite SFA album has to be Rings Around the World, but there is not s dud in the bunch.

Venus is a good follow-up to Love Kraft, another album that many did not like. Both are excellently crafted sonic experiences. Hey Venus! is supposed to be a loosely based concept album and I get it, but it works for me just as well on a song by song basis, especially since it is so short (36 minutes!). But then again keep most tracks at 4 minutes or well under keeps them from getting old. I get a bit of a retro vibe al la, the Beach Boys and the Beatles, but this is still very much SFA, thank you very much. Production quality is off the charts, and the tracks are the whole are upbeat and mellow.

Mine is the USA release with the bonus disc containing 4 extra tracks (Never More, Aluminum Illuminati, These Bones, That's What I'm Talking About). Unlike the main album, I can see why these tracks are relegated to a bonus disc. Nothing really bad about them, but as a whole they are not as catch or interesting as the primary album tracks. Still nice to have though.

There are also two videos on the bonus disc. One shows the Animals having fun in the studio laying down some tracks (Sweet Soundboard Batman!). The other is a video for the song Run-Away. I like the song, but I can't say I really care for the video.

Overall, Hey Venus! is a worthy SFA album, with some minor niggles. The main 11 tracks grabbed me at first listen and keep growing on me with each new listen.Thanks guys. I could pretty much take or leave the bonus disc though, but I will probably burn the 4 tracks into a playlist with the others so I'm glad I have it. Solid 4-star experience.

BTW, I for one dig the funky cover art. Lyrics and other info is one side of a 6 panel fold-out, while the other has two 3 panel mini-posters. I have a feeling that if I look at it long enough, some secrets will be revealed...

2007 was the year I discovered just how amazing Super Furry Animals really are. Before this year I had taken them for granted, a band that have always been around on the radio or the telly yet never quite pierced the musical part of my brain. It was only when a friend bullied me into checking out SFA's singles collectionSongbook that I really had my SFA epiphany. Hearing all those amazing songs in one place made me finally appreciate them for the great band they are and by the look of this, their eighth album, always will be. Hey Venus! is simply great pop music. Exactly what you expect from SFA but with something extra. Packed full of catchy choruses, strange imagery and spacey, bouncy guitars. A lesson in how to make a great 21st Century album, one that encapsulates everything that was good about the past but is firmly rooted in the future. Brilliant.

Some have compared this release with Fuzzy Logic and this was, for them, a good thing. After buying Phantom Power and Rings Around The World I found Fuzzy Logic to be bland and generic.

Hey Venus is better than Fuzzy Logic in that it contains two songs that I enjoy rather than none. Most of the tracks are repetitive and lacking in the sparks that made the last SFA albums so good.

Perhaps Gruff Rhys' solo effort, Candylion, took away some of the songs that would have ended up here. Perhaps they decided to lay off the weed for a while. Whatever happened, Hey Venus is a step backwards for such a talented band.

"Run-Away", "Neo Consumer", & "Baby Ate My Eightball" are among my favorites. Not a dud on on the album.