RADIATOR

Riding high off the momentum laid down on their debut "Fuzzy Logic," the Cardiff spawned SUPER FURRY ANIMALS was taking the 90s alternative scene by storm with its innovative mix of progressive Britpop, neo-psychedelia and alternative indie rock. In fact they were considered the hottest act from Wales since Budgie decorated the 70s hard rock scene with heavy doses of proto-metal and launched the UK's early new wave of British heavy metal scene (we'll ignore the Manic Street Preachers for this review!). Having tamed its outlandish electronic experiments into digestible chunks, the band led by lead singer Gruff Rhys focused more on catchy Britpop hooks embellished with all those scrumptious 90s sounds including grunge guitar, pop punk and alternative with a dash of psychedelic sprinklings on top.

The band didn't waste any time taking their sound to new heights with their sophomore full-length RADIATOR which emerged in the summer of 1997 to great fanfare although the band was a little too experimental and weird for the Britpop crowds and a little too poppy hooky for the casual alt rockers who were totally craving the unabashed guitar fuzz. But somehow SUPER FURRY ANIMALS captured a new niche of their own making, one that was in that eerie in between zone where all styles of 90s music seemingly met in the dark but didn't tell the family. The results were not only interesting but fascinating and for lovers of art rock and progressive pop, RADIATOR was a real treat indeed.

Alternating mind-blowing electronic experiments with fully fueled Britpop accessibility, SUPER FURRY ANIMALS reminded of many artists but sounded like no other. While comparisons to The Flaming Lips, Radiohead, The Beach Boys and even Blur have been made, the band funneled all those diverse ingredients into a cauldron of its own making and boiled them down into a cohesive mishmash of masterful art pop bar none. RADIATOR begins with the eerie electronic intro of "Furryvision" which makes you think you might have popped in a Tangerine Dream album but the Britpop flavors with raucous guitar grooves quickly take you into the world of more contemporary alternative rock (a la Blur) of the 90s and then the band delivers a series of diverse tracks that feature blistering rock workouts accompanied by stellar space rock and psychedelic effects.

Certain tracks remind me of Spacehog, such as the intelligently designed "Demons" (one of the many top 40 hits and a personal fave!) which featured grungy guitar hooks, references to David Bowie glam rock and even adopts those famous Canterbury Scene keyboard sounds made popular by Soft Machine's Richard Sinclair. The production is one of the top notch elements on RADIATOR as well as the attention to details. "Demons" for example features not just the usual guitar, bass, drums and keys layout but also features a subtle banjo accompaniment as well as strings and a trumpet! Not to mention Beach Boys inspired harmonies which adds layers of ear worm catchiness.

Another standout is "She's Got Spies" which begins innocently enough as what sounds like a ballad before breaking into a Weezer inspired sizzling slice of pop punk before drifting off again into glacial neo-psychedleia that offers bloops, bleeps and sputtering synthesized sounds that offer strange contrapuntal sound effects. The band excelled at these off-kilter contrasts. While the music is catchy and the compositions are cleverly designed, the band also proved to be excellent at writing lyrics. The tongue in cheek "Hermann Loves Pauline" may sound like a party grunge stomper but narrates a fictitious account of the parents of Albert Einstein with references to Marie Curie and Ernesto Guevara. This was another top 40 hit.

SUPER FURRY ANIMALS achieved an even greater success on RADIATOR with no less than four top 40 hits on the British charts and rave reviews for its innovative approach of melding Britpop with nerdy electronic effects, progressive elements and various strains of alternative rock including grunge, pop punk, indie rock and even a bit of shoegaze. While this band often gets lumped into the world of progressive rock for its innovative approach, for those seeking prog musical workouts don't even enter these grounds. This is Britpop plus plus plus. Think Spacehog only with more interesting dynamics as well as much better songwriting. RADIATOR is a compelling listen from beginning to end and was the album that propelled SUPER FURRY ANIMALS onto the world's stage. The band would continue on for the next decade as Wales' most interesting band. This is an excellent experimental indie pop rock album!