Super Furry Animals - Radiator
Alternative – Released August 25, 1997 – 14 songs, 46 mins
LUNDI
Is it still Throwback Thursday if you’ve never listened to the album before? Today TSR swings back to the late 90’s to review Super Furry Animals standout sophomore album Radiator.
Here’s the tricky thing about unknown throwbacks. It’s impossible to put yourself in the headspace of the time of release and truly understand what it meant to music. Research into SFA and the album was necessary and let’s just say it passed with flying colours, with the album noted as influential and ground breaking and the band being described as one of the most important groups of the 90’s. Their impact was huge and with more and more listens to Radiator you can begin to see why.
The album is largely synth infused electro pop-rock. A chaotic 47 minutes filled with distorted guitars complemented by an infusion of synthesizers. The album is one big F-YOU to the talking heads who said they couldn’t replicate Furryvision and claimed they’d be a Britpop flame out.
Gruff Rhys’ vocals are top shelf and fit perfectly with these electronic influences. Hitting the highest of highs on Hermann Loves Pauline that’s followed by a grungy and deep punk vocal on Chupacabras. The album never lets you get too comfortable in the best of ways.
The star though of Radiator is vision and production. The album is no doubt adventurous. It is nothing short of sprawling with no similar sounding songs yet composed to complete cohesion. Look no further than standout track Demons or the Bowie-esqe Play it Cool to fully understand. It allows you to breathe when necessary before jumping back into the deep end but never becomes a bore. Everything just comes perfectly together in the end.
Respect your elders. Radiator might not stand out in today’s music landscape but Super Furry Animals paved the way for a lot of the ground breaking music we know and love today.
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
Favourite Song: Demons
ROZ
Follower Request! It feels like forever since we’ve done one of these. Not only is this album new to me, but so is the band - so let’s dive headfirst into Radiator by Welsh alternative rock band Super Furry Animals.
The major highlight of this album was the sheer experimentation with varying sounds and textures - from front to back Radiator is a psychoacoustic treat chock full of distorted guitars, synth squelches, saxophones, trumpets, violins, cellos, flutes - even a goddamn harpsichord. Homages to legendary artists of the past such as David Bowie (Demons, Bass Tuned To D.E.A.D.) and the Beach Boys (She’s Got Spies, Torra Fy Ngwallt Yn Hir - oh the Welsh) are masterfully weaved into the overall chaos that this album leans itself into.
Unique audio techniques are utilized and include an array of echo and pan tricks (even DJ-like scratching effects in Play It Cool). Down A Different River comes in two songs premature as it would have made for a much better closer than Mountain People (which ended up being a little too silly for my taste), otherwise the overall arrangement and track placement is superb.
This album is the absolute definition of “experimental rock”, and it undoubtedly blew people's minds when it came out in 1997. The members of SFA threw everything but the kitchen sink into this one yet still managed to make it sound great. Radiator effortlessly bounces between high energy rock (The Placid Casual, Hermann Loves Pauline) and softer melodic type tracks (Download standing out in this category), and it is this contrast that leaves the listener constantly on the edge of their seat. This week’s Follower Request gets a high rating from this guy.
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
Favourite Song: Play It Cool
REID
Time for a follower request! This one comes from Lundi’s brother, Sheldon, with Radiator by Super Furry Animals. Forming in 1993, the six-man Welsh rock band released nine studio albums from 1996 to 2009. Radiator is the second and came out in ‘97.
First impression was that is one bad ass album cover. It immediately reminded me of a Pearl Jam concert poster I have framed and on my wall from their tour in 2011. What a killer live band. I saw them two nights in a row and heard 45+ different songs:
Unfortunately, the package enclosed by said cover didn’t live up to the hype. Gruff Rhys is lead vocals with Huw Bunford backing him up. Great friggin’ names. But I was not a fan of the lead singing and vocal harmonies throughout the majority of Radiator. I found it largely meh and at times annoying. I couldn’t get on board with all the la la la’s, na na na’s and background ouuu’s. In many cases I thought it was misplaced with the music. Best example of my distaste is on Download. The piano is nice, reminds me of the theme song for The Bold and the Beautiful. But in my humble opinion, that singing is just not good.
Instrumentally I like some of what is happening. I praise their experimental ways but sometimes less is more. Song after song, Radiator transitions again and again. The duration of five of the fourteen songs is longer than four and half minutes with multiple transitions. I like parts of songs throughout but there are few I like from start to finish.
It’s not always easy to describe why you don’t enjoy something. Sometimes a general comment is more effective. SFA has been on the TSR upcoming list since October giving us lots of time to listen and prepare for this review. I kept pushing it off because I had a hard time getting completely through it. Sorry Sheldon, I swear I’m a good guy. It’s not you, it’s them.
Overall Rating - 6.0/10
Favourite Song - Hermann Loves Pauline