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Track List
01) Hello Sunshine
02) Liberty Belle
03) Golden Retriever
04) Sex, War & Robots
05) The Piccolo Snare
06) Venus & Serena
07) Father Father #1
08) Bleed Forever
09) Out of Control
10) Cityscape Skybaby
11) Father Father #2
12) Valet Parking
13) The Undefeated
14) Slow Life
01) Hello Sunshine
02) Liberty Belle
03) Golden Retriever
04) Sex, War & Robots
05) The Piccolo Snare
06) Venus & Serena
07) Father Father #1
08) Bleed Forever
09) Out of Control
10) Cityscape Skybaby
11) Father Father #2
12) Valet Parking
13) The Undefeated
14) Slow Life
3:35
2:58
2:28
3:49
6:08
3:26
1:54
3:39
2:43
4:34
1:30
4:35
4:07
7:00
Data Complete 80%
Total Rating
Total Rating
(2 users)
Back Cover
CD Art
3D Case
3D Thumb
3D Flat
3D Face
3D Spine
First Released
2003
Psychedelic Rock
Gritty
Rock/Pop
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Album
0 copies
Album Description
Available in:
Phantom Power is the sixth album by Welsh indie rock band Super Furry Animals, released on 21 July 2003 by Epic Records in the United Kingdom. The record was originally conceived as a ten song concept album using D-A-D-D-A-D guitar tuning, but the band chose to abandon this idea during recording as they didn't want to constrain themselves. The group did attempt to create a "more coherent" album than their past efforts by choosing songs which worked well together. Phantom Power was recorded at the band's own studio, AV Happenings, in Cardiff with the Super Furries producing and engineering themselves for the first time. The album features a range of musical styles, from country rock to techno, although many of the tracks are based around the acoustic guitar. According to chief songwriter and vocalist Gruff Rhys, the album's lyrics deal with "broken relationships and war".
The album, like their previous record Rings Around the World, was simultaneously released on CD, vinyl and DVD. The DVD featured a surround sound mix of the album along with animations, commentary by Mario Caldato Jr. (who mixed the record) and remixes. The majority of these remixes were re-released as the album Phantom Phorce in 2004. Phantom Power was well received, with many critics suggesting it was the best album of the band's career.
User Album Review
After a fan-baiting two year gap since the 2001 release of Rings Around The World, Super Furry Animals' long-awaited follow-up arrives. But was the wait worthwhile?
Well, naturally Wales' most consistently remarkable band rarely disappoint on record. Phantom Power is SFA's sixth album proper (discounting 1998's stopgap Out Spaced, a collection of b-sides and rarities). And if you were expecting the creative juices to be running a little dry by now, you could barely be more wrong.
Produced by the band, Phantom Power keeps a much lower profile than RATW. Whereas once they were technicolour, now they've gone back to basics. Phantom Power is, for the most part, awash with pedal steel, acoustic guitars and vocal harmonies.
Seasoned Furrywatchers should be warned: initial impressions are not great. There are few obvious singles, for example, and a couple of songs - "Valet Parking", "Cityscape Skybaby" - feel like lazy throwaways.
However, repeated listening reveals hidden depths and delights aplenty. And, these being Super Furry Animals, a fair number of surprises are inevitably pulled out of the bag. Epic closer "Slow Life" is SFA's most successful mindrattling techno attempt so far. "The Piccolo Snare" begins dark and brooding with folk harmonies, before exploding into a sunshine crescendo before drifting off towards a Krautrock horizon, and Huw Bunford's "Sex, War & Robots" is an unexpectedly tender hymn to childhood that could melt the hardest of hearts.
Gruff Rhys' songwriting moves a step forward on Phantom Power, with playful story-based lyrics about turtles, mingers, ninjas and cabbages contrasting with lines about death, radiation and war. As Gruff says about "Venus & Serena", "I'm trying to get balladeering into my songs, but I don't think I've perfected it by any means, You can put this one down to my struggle with narrative!"
It's not the only instance of experimental songwriting on the album. Several songs, including the perfect Iggy rock of "Out Of Control" and - crucially - the two Father Father instrumentals, are based on a DADDAD open guitar tuning which recurs throughout the album.
But most notable is the tangible air of despondency that hangs over many of the songs. Phantom Power reflects the politically precarious times in which it was written: the fear of war and destruction is tangible, with plentiful references to body bags, oil wells, bombs and tarnished flags.
It's a tribute to SFA's skill and versatility that Phantom Power isn't the miserablist, mournful collection it could so easily have become. On the contrary, they've assembled a collection that is at times uplifting, joyous and frivolous, and is their most consistent collection since 1997's Radiator. Where do they go from here? One suspects, for SFA, the possibilities are limitless.
External Album Reviews
None...
User Comments
Available in:
Phantom Power is the sixth album by Welsh indie rock band Super Furry Animals, released on 21 July 2003 by Epic Records in the United Kingdom. The record was originally conceived as a ten song concept album using D-A-D-D-A-D guitar tuning, but the band chose to abandon this idea during recording as they didn't want to constrain themselves. The group did attempt to create a "more coherent" album than their past efforts by choosing songs which worked well together. Phantom Power was recorded at the band's own studio, AV Happenings, in Cardiff with the Super Furries producing and engineering themselves for the first time. The album features a range of musical styles, from country rock to techno, although many of the tracks are based around the acoustic guitar. According to chief songwriter and vocalist Gruff Rhys, the album's lyrics deal with "broken relationships and war".
The album, like their previous record Rings Around the World, was simultaneously released on CD, vinyl and DVD. The DVD featured a surround sound mix of the album along with animations, commentary by Mario Caldato Jr. (who mixed the record) and remixes. The majority of these remixes were re-released as the album Phantom Phorce in 2004. Phantom Power was well received, with many critics suggesting it was the best album of the band's career.
User Album Review
After a fan-baiting two year gap since the 2001 release of Rings Around The World, Super Furry Animals' long-awaited follow-up arrives. But was the wait worthwhile?
Well, naturally Wales' most consistently remarkable band rarely disappoint on record. Phantom Power is SFA's sixth album proper (discounting 1998's stopgap Out Spaced, a collection of b-sides and rarities). And if you were expecting the creative juices to be running a little dry by now, you could barely be more wrong.
Produced by the band, Phantom Power keeps a much lower profile than RATW. Whereas once they were technicolour, now they've gone back to basics. Phantom Power is, for the most part, awash with pedal steel, acoustic guitars and vocal harmonies.
Seasoned Furrywatchers should be warned: initial impressions are not great. There are few obvious singles, for example, and a couple of songs - "Valet Parking", "Cityscape Skybaby" - feel like lazy throwaways.
However, repeated listening reveals hidden depths and delights aplenty. And, these being Super Furry Animals, a fair number of surprises are inevitably pulled out of the bag. Epic closer "Slow Life" is SFA's most successful mindrattling techno attempt so far. "The Piccolo Snare" begins dark and brooding with folk harmonies, before exploding into a sunshine crescendo before drifting off towards a Krautrock horizon, and Huw Bunford's "Sex, War & Robots" is an unexpectedly tender hymn to childhood that could melt the hardest of hearts.
Gruff Rhys' songwriting moves a step forward on Phantom Power, with playful story-based lyrics about turtles, mingers, ninjas and cabbages contrasting with lines about death, radiation and war. As Gruff says about "Venus & Serena", "I'm trying to get balladeering into my songs, but I don't think I've perfected it by any means, You can put this one down to my struggle with narrative!"
It's not the only instance of experimental songwriting on the album. Several songs, including the perfect Iggy rock of "Out Of Control" and - crucially - the two Father Father instrumentals, are based on a DADDAD open guitar tuning which recurs throughout the album.
But most notable is the tangible air of despondency that hangs over many of the songs. Phantom Power reflects the politically precarious times in which it was written: the fear of war and destruction is tangible, with plentiful references to body bags, oil wells, bombs and tarnished flags.
It's a tribute to SFA's skill and versatility that Phantom Power isn't the miserablist, mournful collection it could so easily have become. On the contrary, they've assembled a collection that is at times uplifting, joyous and frivolous, and is their most consistent collection since 1997's Radiator. Where do they go from here? One suspects, for SFA, the possibilities are limitless.
External Album Reviews
None...
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