Customer Reviews

Love Kraft

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A long way from being a household name in the states, the Furries are
getting a foothold. Lazer Beam, their first single is a grand culmination
of "cosmic funk" & power rock sung by a Welshman in a Tron suit. SFA show
they are the alternate universe Coldplay (give Chris Martin the Evil Spock
beard) with an authentically unique sound that seems to fit no clique. A
bad thing if you're in high school, but the only true way to continue
evolving creatively in the world of art and music.

If you were to dip the best of Welsh pop music sung in english into ecstasy
and cut that squirming, glowing fluorescent blob into album form using a
large mushroom cap as the playing surface - you would have Love Kraft.

Anyone who's already a fan of the band will probably buy this album anyway,
but I've you've never heard these guys, I suggest you have an open mind (it
may help to augment the experience with the assist of draw), and suggest
you lay down, close your eyes and make sure you have plenty of hydration
within reach.

Probably their best album since 'Radiator', 'Love Kraft' is the Super Furry Animals at their best. There seems to be a smooth love song theme to this album, but done in a typically bizarre Furries manner. Opener 'Zoom!' is quite simply one of their best tracks ever, a mesmerising blend of a funk/soul groove with proggy experimentalism layered gloriously on top. In fact the whole album has a very Motown influence. There are poppy acoustic moments, crazy rock-out moments, mad techno moments, and so forth. 'Lazer Beam', the single, has a blissfully hyped up chorus, and while there's nothing on here as immediately poppy as, say, 'Juxtaposed With U', it's catchy stuff. Reccomended for old fans and newcomers alike; it showcases them as one of the most inventive bands around.

It gets a bit tiresome proclaiming each Super Furry Animals album their latest masterpiece that exceeds anything previous. Many of their long time fans know full well that this band reached a new level of excellence with the album Rings Around The World and quite frankly, they haven't come down from that level one bit. Phantom Power and now Love Kraft just further cement their place as one of the most consistently entertaining, creative and melodic bands on the planet. Albums that came before Rings were outstanding as well but none of those previous works were as completely satisfying as their more recent works have been.

Love Kraft blends so many divergent sounds into one album that its hard to pinpoint any statement or word that sums up the album adequately. They are true musical chameleons who smash up every influence they've ever had musically yet come out with something so utterly original and of their own that comparisons seem mute. The one aspect of this album that comes across as refreshing is how each song winds up being different from one another while still adding up to a cohesive and satisfying album on whole. From harmonica to strings, every form of sound possible in Pop Rock music is present for the listener and yet nothing is wasted. Every instrument has its place and purpose among this musical soundscape. Love Kraft will not win over many in the States, however, you have to give them credit for making an album that stays completely true to their roots while giving it a healthy go at appealing to the masses. Most bands either lose the sound that made them what they are in trying to achieve this or continue to become more obscure in their approach forgetting that you still need to write songs.

The Horn, Ohio Heat, Frequency and Cloudberries definitely stand out so far as my favorites though that will surely change as I become more entrenched in it. In fact, Frequency may just be one of the most beautiful tunes they've ever penned. If your a fan who is familiar with their works this album will satisfy you completely, however, if your new to them you may be thrown off by the sound at first glance. I would almost recommend a new listener get a copy of their singles collection Songbook, Vol.1 before diving into this one if only to sample everything they've done to this point. It will make this album seem like the continuation of a linear creative process that it certainly is. But, if your adventourous then I doubt you will be disappointed.

In the end Love Kraft may just be SFA's most uplifting album to date and the world neeeds as many albums like that as it can get. Any year that a Super Furry Animals album comes out is a good one in my book and this one has already brightened my day just as their music has brightened my life ever since I first got Furry many years ago! Do yourself a favor and get Furry too!

Super Furry Animals have always had a bit of a retro feel. Ever since their first release their more atmospheric songs have always recalled a bit of the 1960's or 70's. Love Kraft seems to take that retro feeling to the extreme. Perhaps it's the mere fact that this is a more laid back album than most of their previous work, but the flower power sounding title suggests that that they are in fact consciously recalling a late 60's/early 70's feel--listening to it I'm tempted to go out and buy a black light.

The relaxed pace of the album may have led to boredom with a lesser band, but Super Furry Animals are such consumate craftsman that despite the slow moving pace they layer their songs so well you're ears are constantly alert. It's one of those albums where if you put on headphones you realize they actually hid the sounds rainforest in there. Despite their talent as songwriters the album still lags at parts. The beginning of "Walk You Home" could easily garner the backhanded compliment that it sounds like a Bond theme song. The only song that attempts to rock out is "Lazer Beam"--it's roller derby-tastic! I do feel strongly that the album should come with the following warning: do not take mind alterning drugs while listening to "Psyclone." Seriously, though, DON'T! I can just imagine someone dropping acid while listening to the album, and then having their head cave in at song nine. I can barely handle it's excentricities while wearing headphones. You'll know what I'm talking about if you listen to it, but I don't want to describe it for fear that some of you may be on mind altering drugs at this very moment.

Perhaps the Super Furry Animals felt that in a world of war and terrorism they needed to make an album that tackles all these problems with some 60's optimism. "Lazer Beam" is about escaping colonial imperialists by leaving earth in a spaceship, after all. If you think about that long enough it's not too far from the kind of thinking you'd get from a hippie, but the hippie wouldn't be joking. You just have to smile at the lyrics from "The Horn": "drink, smoke, love enjoy the ride/Right or wrong/Hair down long." I guess you can't be cynical all the time, and a little dose of retro optimism is needed now and then. My three favorite songs: "Ohio Heat," "Lazer Beam," and "Frequency."

I've avoided using the rock critic phrase that most aptly fits this album, but my will power is fading. Here it goes: while it won't win them any new fans, Love Kraft will definitely satisfy the devoted. Since I'm already one of those devoted I will probably go out and grab the aforementioned black light, and see if this thing corresponds with a famous musical. Maybe Fiddler On the Roof?

This is an unusual thing for me: that I should consider any group's seventh album to be their best. The vast majority of bands blow their loads on their first go 'round. SFA are easily one of the most consistently great musical acts in this era.

What sets SFA apart from so many other groups is their sense of arrangement. Usually, the pop hooks are very straightforwardly sweet if not particularly unique. However, it's their precise cocktail of instrumentation that makes them sound so amazing. The Furries draw from a very broad palatte, playing with everything from traditional orchestral strings, to electronic blippery, to harmonicas and vocal harmonies. This variety would be overwhelming for most groups but never for the Super Furry Animals.

Much credit must go to the production via Mario Caldato. I can't identify his precise sound, but since he's often associated with the Beastie Boys, another of the most consistently great bands out there (only recently fallen off), I'm sure he has a lot to do with this. I don't know how they manage to keep doing it. Somehow, they keep things fresh, and yet each album is identifiably Furry. I'm really surprised that I haven't seen this on any of the critics' top ten lists.

This was my intro into the SFA world, and boy was I happy to experience it that way. Never have I heard such variety in an album executed so flawlessly - from the Pink Floyd inspired opening track "Zoom!" to the Afro sound of "Psyclone", SFA zips around, touching any genre they can, and hits a bullseye on each one. Rarely does an album become so cohesive and hold such emotional power; try not to get chills in the last few minutes of "Cloudberries". In the right state of mind, the album takes you to a whole new level (helpfully aided by a visualizer, of course). The band manages to emulate classic bands such as The Beatles and said Pink Floyd, but comes out with their own distinct style. No small feat. I've heard people call this album "uneven", but with unforgettable hooks in songs such as "Ohio Heat" and "Atomik Lust", I believe those critics no longer have credibility. The best album of the 21st century.

Perhaps not too many people would agree with me, but I prefer Love Kraft to any other SFA album.

After seven albums, the Furries are either content in their position (unlikely) or are trying too hard to distance themselves from better days. They were ahead of their time almost every step of the way in the 90s and then in the early 00s released a Welsh-language LP and one packed with so much sonic excitement that overkill almost was the point. But now they've gone two in a row with disappointing safeness, dream pop stretched through noisy bluster, given mostly dull vocals by assorted members of the band.

Love Kraft is pretty much Phantom's equal in every way, from good and bad. It starts off well with the fuzzy melodious dream of "Zoom" and into the frantically fun "Atomik Lust." But then it settles in and drones on. The drudgery is broken from time to time by catchy electro-buzz pop ("Lazer Beam") and rising, near-anthemic power ("Frequency"), but it's a long haul to the satisfying conclusion on "Cabin Fever." For a band that was once so adventurous, the Furries desperately need to get fun again, because I'm starting to get bored.

Best cuts: "Frequency," "Zoom," "Lazer Beam," "Atomik Lust," "Cabin Fever," "Psyclone," "Ohio Heat"

Martin Amis once said that great writers must love their readers. Gruff and the fellows of SFA most certainly love their audiences, and we love the music that SFA makes. Charming, sprawling, dissonant, and yet precise, LoveKraft is the refutation that our age must be as ugly as politicos and media wish to make it. Every track is amazing and kids will be talking about this album when roads have made way for teleportation hubs.

There is a fine line between 1960s parody and 1960s influence, but it is easy to distinguish-- one sounds really bad and the other really good.

And I am not the one who deemed Super Furry Animals on the good side of that line. A guy who knows a thing or two about 1960s psychedelia, one Sir Paul McCartney, picked the Furrys to back him on 2000s Liverpool Sound Collage.

Love Kraft is not a sound collage, but a collection of songs--great ones. If you took the bounce and skip of the Small Faces, the layering of Sgt. Pepper, modern but warm production and a little punk attitude just to heat the windowpane, you would have concocted one Supper Furry Animal.

No one in our day in age in their proper gourd walks around with beads and flowers, or thinks anything is "groovy." That is certainly not what the Animals are into. They are far to smart to make 1960s psych into 2010 nostalgia. These guys would beat the crap out of Austin Powers, and rightfully so.

But that long ago music did leave a rich and textured heritage which Furry beasts can mine and make into modern cakes of sound. And if Sir. Paul thinks that these guys can play in his league, who is a little psychedelic mushroom sprout like me to argue--his vote is more than enough for me