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The Super Furry Animals are not your
conventional rock band. "Hogia bach gwahanol"
are our Furry friends. Any band whose prized on tour possession
is a military
tank, which they leave parked outside their gigs, can safely
be described as being just a touch eccentric.
Their music is almost impossible to pigeon hole into a particular
modern musical sub-genre; their songs are so very different,
each album a musical journey from
arty West Coast psychedelia, to blazoned unapologetic glam
rock with passionate folk ballads and downright catchy pop
tunes along the way. Lyrically diverse, their music pays
homage to international drug smuggler Howard Marks, offers
warnings against chewing gum in bed, and tells a story of
a man who, well frankly, "doesn't give a damn".
And now with a metaphorical two finger salute to convention,
with a move that could (perhaps intentionally) ruin their
chance of ever reaching the super-stadium filling status
enjoyed by fellow Welsh bands Manic Street Preachers and
Catatonia, the Super Furries have released a low budget
album sung entirely in their native tongue. What other successful
modern day band would risk critical derision and commercial
calamity by producing their fourth album at a cost of a
mere £6000, the lyrics of which are in a language
spoken by less than a million people throughout the world.
On "Mwng" (translated as "Mane") the
Super Furry Animals sound better than ever before. Never
has vocalist Gruff Rhys sounded so raw and emotional, so
clear and in such close harmony with his songs. The fact
that he's singing in his own beautiful and mystical language
is no coincidence of course and the slightly rough but eminently
melodic tones of his native North Wales tongue lend a poignancy
to the
songs that singing in English could never have achieved.
Coming from a very strong Welsh-speaking background Gruff
has been accused of selling out by singing in English. Not
unreasonably, he argues that by making a few songs in Welsh
and with bi-lingual packaging of albums the Super Furries
have increased awareness of the ancient Celtic language.
With "Mwng", already the best selling Welsh language
album ever, a top 10 in the UK and receiving critical acclaim
in the States, the Super Furry Animals have raised that
profile even further.
Although stripped of the mass of acoustic confusion one
generally expects from multi-instrumentalist and techno-wizard
Cian Ciaran, musically "Mwng" exhibits
the usual diverse eclectic mix of Super Furry Animal sounds,
an amalgam of their many musical influences.
The bouncy "Ymaelodi A'r Ymylon" ("Joining
The Periphery") is perhaps something the Beach Boys
could have produced had they spent a weekend surfing on
the
Pembrokeshire coast, whilst "Ysbeidiau Heulog"
("Sunny Intervals") recalls ELO at their meteorological
best.
The album's lyrics are obviously influenced by the country
and culture the band grew up with. The eerie Pan Ddaw'r
Wawr" (translated as "When Dawn Breaks")
discusses the death of rural communities and "Sarn
Helen", (the name of the road the Romans built to link
North and South Wales), laments the decline of infrastructure
in Wales since the time of the Romans.
The album concludes with possibly the band's finest ever
composition - "Gwreiddiau Dwfn" ("Deep Roots")
and "Mawrth Oer Ar Y Blaned Neifion" ("Cold
Mars On Neptune") an epic two part song about family
roots and being tied to a piece of land.
Described by the band as a "politicised" rather
than a political" statement, "Mwng" captures
the Super Furry Animals at their very best, doing exactly
what they want and channeling all their cultural pride in
their beloved country into one fantastic record. Their next
album is expected to be mainly in English, but it will have
to be one damn fine record if it is to eclipse the impression
left by the low-budget "Mwng".
MWYNHEWCH !!!!!
Alan Broadbent is happily the other
half of Rowena Broadbent. Alan hails from Bury in England
whilst welsh speaking Rowena hails from Welsh speaking rural
North Wales.
Both can be spotted at gigs of welsh
touring bands and indeed enjoyed the latest SFA show at
the Metro last November.
Highlights of that show were Gruff's
power ranger helmet during Slow Life and the band dressed
as Yetis for the denoument of 'The man don't give a ****".
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