Waterloo Records

Reviews:

Say what you will about trippy Technicolor popsters Super FurryAnimals—possibly say, "Y Gwyneb Iau… Pan Ddaw'r Wawr!" if you own 2000's Mwing,entirely sung in the group's native Welsh language—but you can't accuse the bandof doing anything half-arsed. This is a band, recall, which buys army tanks inorder to paint ‘em bright purple and hires Paul McCartney not for his Beatle-yvocal harmonies but to munch carrots and celery in time with the music.

Ah, themusic. Nothing h-a'd about that either, mate. With Furry memories of past BeachBoys and Bacharach homages in mind it's tempting to invoke two more "B"s thistime out—Bowie and Bolan. And tracks like glossed-up thumper "Golden Retriever"(think T.Rex's "20th Century Boy" meets Bowie's "Jean Genie") and the irresistiblyMott the Hoople-ish anthem "Out of Control" won't dispel the impression that someonein the band dons glitter and stack heels on the weekends. But this isn't the group's"glam album" per se, as there's more per capita stylistic zig-zaggery here thana barrelful of Flaming Lips; atmospheric folk rock, country-tinged dreampop, technofriedpsychedelia and Brian Wilson-esque orchestral interludes abound on the quirkysexycooldisc.

As with the Furries' prior album, 2001's Rings Around the World, PhantomPower is simultaneously released on both CD and DVD, the latter featuring 5.1surround sound as well as outlandish videos to accompany the tunes. Clearly, anoutfit that aims to live up to the "super" portion of its monicker.