With eight well-received albums under their belt, the Welsh guys in Super Furry Animals could easily be called masters of pop. In that case, their most recent album Hey Venus! might be their Ph.D. dissertation. Drawing inspiration from the 20th century and beyond, Hey Venus! is a primer on creating enjoyable pop-rock that could kick Good Charlotte’s butt eight days a week.
After the 45-second Sgt. Pepper’s style “Gateway Song,” the Super Furries launch into the tremendously enjoyable girl-group-inspired “Run-Away.” The retro trend continues with the Beach Boys twee of “Show Your Hand” and “The Gift That Keeps On Giving”’s sexy soul. These are all unabashed pop songs with catchy melodies, clear vocals, and not-too-deep lyrics, but it’s still a satisfying listening experience.
Hey Venus! apparently began life as a concept album, but few signs remain—this isn’t a band that deals in pretension. For example, Of Montreal-flavored “Baby Ate My Eightball” includes lyrics like “Frothing at the mouth / Descending to heaven” but juxtaposes this by relying on the ridiculous title for its chorus. Frontman Gruff Rhys’s “Suckers!” is the standout ballad, with its simply sweet melody and disdain for “Suckers in the mainstream / Suckers in their slipstream / Suckers in the underground.” While many great bands make self-seriousness work for them, the Super Furry Animals strip it away and uncover instant-gratification genius.
Despite its variety of styles and influences, Hey Venus! is exceptionally cohesive and consistent. The practically inevitable dud track is the languid “Carbon Dating,” but even that’s merely dismissible and not offensively bad. The album is frantic, silly, reserved, and pensive in turns, but the overall feeling is one of warm familiarity even if you’ve never heard a Super Furries album before. Hey Venus! won’t challenge you, but it promises to satisfy you.
4.5/5
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