Customer Reviews

Phantom Power

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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

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.

The Furries 6th album is easily there most attainable and cohesive record yet, but they haven't lost one detail that made them one of the most brilliantly quirky acts in music today.

Phantom Power has a slower and darker tone than recent releases like Rings Around the World and Guerilla, but the playful lyrics and superb melodies keep it from any hint of moodiness. Songs like Hello Sunshine and Liberty Belle have their signature sound complete with the odd lyrics and keyboard tinkering. Other tunes like Out Of Control and Golden Retriever, really take on a stomping 70's era rock thing and become instantly, "Glam-tastic." My favorite moments on Phantom Power, come when the melody and the group's wonderful vocals kick in and change pace like a banshee. Songs like The Picolo Snare and Venus and Serena do this as well as it has be done. Overall - it's still way too early to tell where this will fall on my favorite SFA albums, but with Phantom Power, they have only improved their position as one of rocks' best bands.

Phantom Power, the Furries sixth effort, is not as purely riveting as Fuzzy Logic or radiator, but it brings a new side of hte Furries to the table. This mature SFA has a new mission: to be masters of every musical genre. This mission sounds like what Beck might be doing, but the Super Furry Animals approach multi-genre-ing with a persistent, perfectionist appeal, trying to master each genre they tackle.
"Hello Sunshine" and "Bleed Forever" are piano-based pop tunes, sounding Beatlesque and pre-psychadelia, like a concise Elton John tune.
"Liberty Belle" and "The Undefeated" are Beach Boys Pet-Sounds-era good-vibe songs, with catchy backing harmonies in the choruses and many instruments that give the feel of tropicalia in the songs.
"Golden Retriever" is a bluesy Zepplinesque song that masters stroy-telling bluesmen.
"Sex, War and Robots" is a country ballad that goes slower than molasses but electrifies with its beauty.
"The Piccolo Snare" and "Cityscrape Skybaby" are anticlimactic songs in the style of Radiohead's "Exit Music for a Film"-they use many verses and as the music gets louder and faster they hit an uplifting chorus to end the song. Purely cinematic.
"Venus and Serena" is the closest to the Fuzzy Logic era Furries genre-straight ahead psychadelia alternative pop/punk. The song uses fuzzy guitars to lead to a harmonic psychadelic chorus.
"Father Father #1" and #2" are great instrumentals, a genre that the furries have played with throughout their careers.
"Out of Control" is straight on hard rock with a Doors-like blues edge to it.
"Valet Parking" could also be called Pet Sounds era, but it is more the Mamas and the Papas; it uses an acoustic-tinged riff with ba-ba-bas from the Furries to play under a harmonic tale of a care trip across Europe.
Finally, "Slow life" is the Furries own genre; lengthy, epic keyboard, techno jam. Don't miss this album for the world.

Phantom Power, the Furries sixth effort, is not as purely riveting as Fuzzy Logic or radiator, but it brings a new side of hte Furries to the table. This mature SFA has a new mission: to be masters of every musical genre. This mission sounds like what Beck might be doing, but the Super Furry Animals approach multi-genre-ing with a persistent, perfectionist appeal, trying to master each genre they tackle.
"Hello Sunshine" and "Bleed Forever" are piano-based pop tunes, sounding Beatlesque and pre-psychadelia, like a concise Elton John tune.
"Liberty Belle" and "The Undefeated" are Beach Boys Pet-Sounds-era good-vibe songs, with catchy backing harmonies in the choruses and many instruments that give the feel of tropicalia in the songs.
"Golden Retriever" is a bluesy Zepplinesque song that masters stroy-telling bluesmen.
"Sex, War and Robots" is a country ballad that goes slower than molasses but electrifies with its beauty.
"The Piccolo Snare" and "Cityscrape Skybaby" are anticlimactic songs in the style of Radiohead's "Exit Music for a Film"-they use many verses and as the music gets louder and faster they hit an uplifting chorus to end the song. Purely cinematic.
"Venus and Serena" is the closest to the Fuzzy Logic era Furries genre-straight ahead psychadelia alternative pop/punk. The song uses fuzzy guitars to lead to a harmonic psychadelic chorus.
"Father Father #1" and #2" are great instrumentals, a genre that the furries have played with throughout their careers.
"Out of Control" is straight on hard rock with a Doors-like blues edge to it.
"Valet Parking" could also be called Pet Sounds era, but it is more the Mamas and the Papas; it uses an acoustic-tinged riff with ba-ba-bas from the Furries to play under a harmonic tale of a care trip across Europe.
Finally, "Slow life" is the Furries own genre; lengthy, epic keyboard, techno jam. Don't miss this album for the world.

The more I listen to Phantom Power, the more I'm beginning to think that this is a masterpiece. I'll give it a few more listens to be certain.

Mario Caldato Jr. (of Beastie Boys fame) and SFA seem like an unlikely pairing. But the results are astonishing. The attention to sonic detail is amazing. The little blips, burps and backward messages add texture between songs.

Get it and tell me what you think.

[DW]

this isn't a band: it's an addiction. after i bought "rings around the world" and was swept up in the super melodic trippiness of this fine band, i had to see what they'd do elsewhere. so i bought everything i could get my hands on. this is one of the better records (they're ALL very worthwhile).

do you like SPARKLEHORSE, THE BLACK WATCH, BLUR, NADA SURF, ELO (yes, them--or the move) and of course the beatles and beach boys (yes, the best bits of the beach boys--ie brian songs, harmonies)...this is at once adventurous and undeniably pleasant...what a FIND!!! they should be huge.

buy this and trip out!!!

I was firmly addicted to this album for about a year. These guys are incredible. I don't think the comparison to Pet Sounds is fair. Every new indie "masterpiece" that comes out is compared to Pet Sounds, and I'd hate to lump this in with the wave of indie sludge that is coming out right now. SFA have their own unique sound that combines brilliant, offbeat songwriting with great musicianship, and they just have a great ear for what sounds good. Why they haven't caught on more in the states, I don't know.

Phantom Power is an incredible joyride through some truly unique musical terrain. You hear comparisons with the Beatles, Byrds, Neil Young, etc.. but the Furries have a sound which is really their own. The songs are densely produced but the density never seems overdone or superfluous. The melodies are by turns sweeping, haunting, playful, but always beautiful. The songs range in style pretty widely, but there is a pervasive mood which holds the album together. It's got some dark themes, but these are dark times we live in, and overall it seems to be an album more about fighting back than despairing. I can listen to Phantom Power over and over and never tire of it. Buy it immediately!