Phantom Power

Super Furry Animals

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 22, 2003)
• Original Release Date: 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Xl Recordings
• ASIN: B00009V7TQ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #23,065 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

A grim mood stalks the Super Furry Animals' spellbound sixth studio album, but, luckily, brilliant music spirits away the thematic gloom as florid semi-acoustic ballads and technicolor glam rock keeps the darkness at bay. Take "Hello Sunshine," a sleepy Beatles-esque number in which Gruff Rhys stands proud on a Freak Power ticket: "I'm a minger / You're a minger too / So come on mingers / I want to ming with you." When Phantom Power is bleak, it's startlingly so. The Stooges-like "Out of Control" is as dark as any Furries song to date. But more often this collection is playful: Rhys appropriates the language of blues and twists it in modern angles on the galloping, glammy "Golden Retriever," while "Slow Life" finds keyboardist Cian Ciaran's demonstrating a skill for electronic assimilation that's previously proved elusive. Sure, it's a jumble, but, like the Beatles' White Album, it hangs together. --Louis Pattison

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars [extract] my oil, July 23, 2003

By	James Behrens (Del Mar, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

SFA has done it again. Phantom Power is their 6th album (7th if you count Outspaced), and it's as enjoyable as anything they've done to date. If you're familiar with their back catalog, you know that's saying a lot.

Stylistically, they're still all over the place, from riff-rock to Byrds-esque country-tinged ballads, acoustic folk with a brass section, exuberant freak-outs, techno blips, straight-ahead britpop - just to name a few examples. The lyrics are mostly allegorical commentary on the present state of the world, delivered in Gruff Rhys's deep and dynamic Welsh-accented voice.

According to the band's website, the "Phantom Power" is "a sinister power source that controls the world from beyond people's comprehension. And a lot of things that go on today seem completely illogical and I think we watch the world go by with disbelief."

But the album isn't all doom and gloom. The first single, "Golden Retriever", and in particular the excellent "Valet Parking", an ode to the road, are fun and happy and summertime.

Despite the eclectic mix of styles, the album is very cohesive as a whole, soaked in a lush, psychadelic mood. The tracks are sequenced well, and the mix benefits from the assistance of Mario Caldato (you might remember the Beastie Boys saying "at the boards is the man they call the Mario").

Start to finish, easily one of the best albums of 2003 so far. Not a second of filler anywhere. If you already like SFA, you should have this album. If you've never heard them before, this is as good a place to start as any.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A grower..., December 2, 2004

By	Howlinw (California, USA) - See all my reviews

I always used to declare the Furries' debut as their essential masterpiece, never to be topped. Then I noticed that I listen to this one a lot more. Somehow it snuck into my top rotation and now refuses to leave. And I don't want to force it out. It's a lot more toned-down and mellow than their earlier work, which is something I really appreciate in the waning days of my youth here- I tend to care far more about the details of songcraft than energy for energy's sake these days. The details are what make this record. The addition of electrical beats at the end of track five, for example, and the way it builds through vocal harmonies into the chorus, is just beautiful. There are moments where we have country slide guitar, or blues riffs, or harmonies, or electronics, and it all sounds natural and organic. This band is vastly under-recognized, but I believe that they are one of the truly great bands of the modern era. Long may they thrive, and create music that is detailed, unique, catchy and artful (but not at all pretentious).

-H

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A shot of summer sunshine, November 22, 2003

By	Nelle (Madison, WI United States) - See all my reviews

I've liked the Furries ever since by boyfriend turned me onto them a year and a half ago or so. They took some getting used to at first, but after a few listens you see *why* they kick so much ass. Their music defies easy classification, it runs the gamut from folksy surf pop to hard core techno, with all points in between. Nothing would surprise me at this point.

I started out by buying the Furries' last musical contribution, Rings Around The World (2001, Epic) before being sent the vast majority of Furries' previous albums. They all kicked some serious ass. So I was really excited when I read that a new album was going to be released in the near future. I aquired the album through my usual source about three months prior to it's official release. And have not stopped listening to it since. Thankfully I now have my own legit copy*g*.

You can vividly hear how they were influenced by the Beach Boy's brand of surf pop with their fantastic harmonies and compositions. One good example is on one of my two favorite tracks, Piccolo Snare is wonderfully complex and layered. Just when you think you have heard it all, you hear something new. Plus it is long song and you can just absorb yourself in their world.

On my other favorite track, Slow Life, they go blissfully techno. Slow life is a monster of a song, starting out with syncopated techno beats and a carnival-like feel to the percussion. It flows from techno to rock easily and it also smoothly mixes the two with a good shot of strings for good measure. It also gets nice and trippy at points. The perfect end to a nearly perfect album.

The DVD is good, very good. A big reason to get the DVD: it was mixed in Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound.

My prediction is that this will be one of the top albums this year, and with damn good reason. Personally it's my co-fav album along with Mwng and Outspaced(Six in and they haven't done a stinker yet).

Best way to listen: Sitting in a comfortable chair with a good pair of headphones on.