Super Furry Animals - Hey Venus!

Eternally creative, SFA's new album crosses new territory, but still effortlessly raises the eyebrows and a happy smile. Hey Venus! mixes elegant harmonies and stomping rock-outs, complete with elevated chord changes, while the vocals are so blissed-out it's like they're surfing sound waves to the future. Indulging in the steady theme of escaping a small town and learning the hardships of life to come good, the Welsh crew's eighth offering has a completely feeling different to many of their other albums. The upbeat experimental electro-rock, the memorable choruses and wacky lyrics are ever present, but there's a matured, reassured feeling prevalent throughout, which could at least partially be attributed to a change in studio production staff which sees Dave Neufeld from Broken Social Scene manning the controls. Like BSS, there are lots of layers here, but SFA have always packed a solid punch. Hey Venus! complements that with a sense of inventiveness that shows no sign of slowing down. [Chris Bathgate]