Super Furry Animals
Radiator

THE REVIEW

Here I am again! Hoping to be more liked than last time, I'm back to review the quintessential album by Super Furry Animals: Radiator.

Released back in August 1997, it features 14 compositions of incredible freshness, yet never banal.

The opening is entrusted to "Furryvision^TM", a one and a half minute organ intro, which flows into the first song, "The Placid Casuals", energetic and Peter Gabriel-like. Then comes the first gem: "The International Language Of Screaming", the second single released, which in just over two minutes mixes Blur-like choruses (hearing the la la la la and not thinking of their compositions from the "Parklife/The Great Escape" era is impossible) and reminiscences of the more melodic Beck. The fourth track is "Demons", the last single released, and here the pace slows down, for an extremely catchy ballad complete with a trumpet solo... it's one of the most psychedelic tracks on the album.

After a minute of "Short Painkiller", another composition supported by psychedelic sounds, we arrive at "She's Got Spies", a mix of pop-punk, soul enriched with hand claps, highly enjoyable and in full Super Furry Animals style.

Then comes yet another gem, "Play It Cool", the third single released. Here the rhythm is driving, and in the chorus, you hear an impossible falsetto akin to Mika.

"Hermann Loves Pauline", the first single released, is instead characterized by Pulp-like sounds, with an impossible vocal arrangement and an ultra-catchy chorus. The verse is semi-rapped, a rarity in the SFA repertoire (perhaps rap is only present in the last, "Inaugural Trams"). After the striking "Chupacabras", here comes another super track: "Torra Fy Ngwallt Yn Hir", with Blur-like sounds again. After "Bass Tuned To D.E.A.D", a psychedelic ballad, comes one of the most folk tracks on the album: "Different River", which has a lot of Beatles' more psych feel. Closing tracks are "Download", a haunting slow piece, and "Mountain People", which starts as a typical Brit track, closing with a drum'n'bass coda (if I may call it that), foreshadowing the sounds found in the album "Rings Around The World", another masterpiece by the group.

This review ends here, with two notes: the cover is another super masterpiece by Pete Fowler... beautiful!

Moreover, in 2005 a deluxe version of "Radiator" was released, with a second CD of b-sides, which in the humble opinion of the author, have very little of "b".

Hoping not to be slaughtered as with the first review, I bid you farewell. Be kind in judging me, huh! I'm a newbie... I might get discouraged, offended, and not write anymore!

Paraphrasing Grantnicholas... Key Tracks: "International Language Of Screaming", "Torra Fy Ngwallt Yn Hir", "Play It Cool", "Mountain People"

Themes.