From the Vaults

Over the course of the last 3 days, I have played the Super Furry Animals 2001 release Rings Around the World numerous times. I would guess that it has been about a year or so since I have listened to this LP, but it reminds me, nonetheless, of why I fell for this band back when the disc originally came out. Overall, the album mixes pop, rock, dance, & electronica to create a fantastic little freak-out that I'm not sure SFA has since topped (Phantom Power blew, Love Kraft came close, haven't yet heard Hey Venus!). Particularly, the dissonant, beat-laden denouement of "No Sympathy" is most certainly the pinnacle of the set, while the pure evil that oozes from the second half of "Receptacle for the Respectable" is quite delicious. & how can one not love the pop sensibilities of "Run! Christian, Run!" & its humorous skewering of Xtian ideology? Great, great music.

Oh yeah, & then there is the title track, which itself is catchy as all catchiness. Below you can indulge in all that is Gruff Rhys & Co. on a multi-media plane (Note the ever so subtle Stones' Hot Rocks allusion):