Music
Super Furry Animals
Kelvingrove Bandstand, Glasgow
Laura Kelly
four stars
PART way through Super Furries feel-good psychedelic set in the genteel surrounds of Kelvingrove Bandstand, their increasingly grizzled frontman, Gruff Rhys, informs us that he can sing from every orifice. To prove it, he dons a massive robot head and holds the mic to his left eye. “I can sing from the right one too,” he assures us.
It’s a suitably esoteric image from a band that has never been less than surreal. But it’s the Furries sweeter side that’s on show tonight. Hello Sunshine, backed by the image of a rising sun, bathes the Bandstand in the warm fuzzies, even as the forecast storms start to blow in. Golden Retriever is a big slobbery lick up the side of your face. Mountain People – the story of a persecuted group on the side of a hill, inspired by Gruff’s own childhood – feels like nostalgia.
It’s now a full seven years since we’ve had a new album from the Welsh oddballs, though in a spectacular bit of bad timing they did release a new single the same week as the Stone Roses returned in May. The wig-out alternative to the Manic Street Preachers Euros anthem, Bing Bong wasn’t ever likely to be chanted from the terraces, but its barmy repeated chorus inspires triumphant air-punches and heart-felt embraces here.
Keeping the loved-up atmosphere going, even closer The Man Don’t Give A F**k feels less angry than usual. The band don yeti suits for their traditional "multi-compass protest anthem" and lead the climax of the party – breaking into an extended ravey adventure before bringing it all back home for a surprisingly upbeat kick against The Man. Rhys scarcely needs his cue cards that read: “PROLONGED APPLAUSE”, “LOUDER” and “APE S**T!” We’re already hollering.
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