Album Review: Super Furry Animals - Love Kraft

Author: Dollyrocker

The sticker on the front of the lovely new SFA album has a few quotes on from various previous reviews ranging from 'Gorgeous' to 'Their most satisfying album to date', which is quite a big statement for a band on their seventh album in less than ten years. A lot of us will have grown up with the SFA, so if 'Fuzzy Logic' was the first night on the town whilst your parents were on holiday, this LP has to be a life defining stoned picnic on a beautiful summers day. No huge surprise that they roped in Sean O' Hagan from The High Llamas then, they are long time admirers of his ability to recreate the classic 'Pet Sounds' sound, this compliments the Furries sound incredibly well too.

'Love Kraft' opens with 'Zoom!', no not the Fat Larry's Band song, that was covered by The Boo Radley's years ago. No, SFA's 'Zoom!' is classic descending chord structures and Pink Floyd Fender Rhodes piano tinkles all the way, sounding absolutely gorgeous too. Hilarious lyrics in there too, classic SFA whimsy; 'Sold you a Dalmatian but the spots fell off, pooled them altogether as a hairy moth' - genius! 'Atomic Lust' carries on with a similar style to 'Zoom!' with a more psychedelic sound, not ones of the LP's stronger songs, but the night is young. 'The Horn' is absolutely gorgeous, a Dylanesque kind of waltz with plenty of 'la la la's'.

'Ohio Heat' is about as bright and breezy as it gets, like a kind of 'Love Street' re-written for the SFA sound. 'Lazer Beam' us the first single from the album, should have already hit the shops by the time you read this. This is without a doubt the albums most upbeat moment, features a kazoo and is classic SFA summer pop, a little like 'Play It Cool' or 'Golden Retreiver'. 'Oi Frango' is an instrumental which shuffles along brilliantly and really shows the High Llamas influence too with the Brazilian influences. 'Cabin Fever' finishes off an absolutely lovely LP, one which might slightly divide fans, there is little of the old skool wackiness of 'Radiator' or 'Guerilla', instead SFA have made a record that glides rather than soars and it sounds like it suits them. Bless their furry socks.