Super Furry Animals - New stuff

[Custard]

So after those reunion gigs, they are recording again. Hurrah!

From their Facebums' page:

"Let's come together this summer, in song and let that song be BING BONG. Please await further transmissions."
BING BONG - the new single from Super Furry Animals.
Out Friday 13th May.
‪#‎BINGBONGSFA‬

I hope it's a modern take on Beach Boys' Ding Dang

[the science eel]

Fucking excellent. And nice title, too.

[Hat FM]

you can tell the song is gona be catchy as fuck. Wonder if a new album will come before the end of the year.
There is a lengthy interview with gruff in Q magazine this month. I'm guessing it's mainly about his 'i love eu' stuff but apparently there is also stuff about new solo, sfa and soundtrack stuff.

[Vodka Margarine]

I could write something insightful about this but 'Fucking YES' is all I have.

[Crabwalk]

Wow, that's a relief as much as anything. I was worried that they were just going to keep touring festivals with the same set forever, just to fund their other projects.

SFA OK!

Edit: It's a Euro 2016 anthem, apparently. So could still just be a one-off goof.

[Wayman C. McCreery]

I'm keeping my expectations very low for this. Everything's pointing towards it being a one-off Euro 2016 single, and if it's as throwaway as Gruff's I Love EU then I won't make it to a second listen.

For SFA meganerdz, some interesting rarities are gradually appearing at https://youtube.com/channel/UCTgclqq3eDX6SGFN54za1MQ - including Furry Techno (again) and the original edit of The Undefeated.

[DrunkCountry]

Back on Friday 22nd April I was listening to BBC Radio Wales' Eleri Sion Show[nb]waiting for my brother-in-law's weekly film review slot[/nb] who was asking listeners to contact her with their 'fantasy collaborations' between musicans/singers alive or dead. Usual Elvis & Tom Jones & Shirley Bassey type answers. I texted in the following hoping the resident super knowledgeable finger on the pulse down with the kids music DJ[nb]male voice in clip; his PJ Harvey LP review is something to behold: https://audioboom.com/boos/4457898-eleri-sion-pj-harvey-the-hope-six-demolition-project-review-20-04-16[/nb] wouldn't know the first 3, but would know the last one, so wouldn't get the overall connection. Worked better than I expected & he clearly made that call.

https://audioboom.com/boos/4457881-i-ll-get-the-word-out-on-the-street?t=0

[daf]

I hope it's a modern take on Beach Boys' Ding Dang

Possibly the old 'Bing Bong Be' song - as sung on the way to many an Urdd Summer Camp :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwghB3GskiI

Lyrics (as chewed up by google translate) :

It'll dwedyd and talks
I love Anglesey
I faithful who adore
Over the Tyr in Caernarfonshire

Chorus:
Bing, bong, bing, bong, what
Bing, bong, bing, bong, what
Bing, bong, bing, bong, what
Bing, bong, bing, bong, what

Thou thy ass hole slim milgli
Thou and thy breeding fleas on edge
I that guy lysti
Kicking feet of the bed fleas

I love sex Friday
Under the barrel in the cellar
I would like again and indeed
Befriend a thing that

I am vain, I drank
I was ashamed to see my country
I spend like crazy guy
Fi get drunk - disgusting medicine!

Dafydd Dafis ditch Border
Lost key hole 'to the ass
Ffaelodd get he locked enough
Splintered hole 'to the ass in twain

The exact nature of my most min
Is precluded committed immediately
Shouting "Peace", tolerate feeling
Dwedyd "Do not" - and let it

[Eight Taiwanese Teenagers]

Pardon me?

[Wayman C. McCreery]

This is out now. Nervously downloading.

[Wayman C. McCreery]

I'm one minute in - fucking glorious.

[Custard]

Hurrah! Can't wait!

[Crabwalk]

The first minute is great, but it's really repetitive and reliant on a slightly stale groove after that, I think. The Animal Collective-style breakdowns later on are good.

Overall it feels like they're definitely going for an anthemic, repetitive 'TMDGAF' approach, but family-friendly. The jury's out until I've heard it a few more times.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Positive first impression here. The anti- All For One.

[Crabwalk]

Yes, it's 50 times better than that Roses track.

[Wayman C. McCreery]

This is so much better than a song called Bing Bong released for a football tournament should be. File it alongside Gruff's Whale Trail.

If this is the last thing they ever record then it's a perfect full stop.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Though it does remind me of something off The Supreme's Christmas Album.

Albeit that goes Ding Dong throughout rather than Bing Bong.

[DrGreggles]

Fucking delightful.
I bloody love the Super Furries.

I wonder if this was written/recorded ages ago in the hope that Wales ever qualified for anything.

[Wayman C. McCreery]

Fucking delightful.
I bloody love the Super Furries.

I wonder if this was written/recorded ages ago in the hope that Wales ever qualified for anything.

It was written for Euro 2004 before Russia did Wales in the playoff.

[Beagle 2]

It was written for Euro 2004 before Russia did Wales in the playoff.

Aw, is that true? I'd hoped they'd gone good again. 'Tis a great track.

[Beagle 2]

The English translation of the BING BONG lyrics:

Oh! Glowing Moon

Oh! Moon of beauty

You peak every month

But I'm constantly peaking.

---

From Môn to Monmouth

To Abercraf

From Fflint to Penfro

From the Gwyrfai to the Taff

---

The ball's like a pixel

In a game of Pong

Noise comes from our screens;

'Bing' and then 'Bong'

---

And so significant

Is our cry

That no computer

Can control our flow

[the science eel]

It's lazy shit. Any one of us could do better with a vocoder and a couple of synths.

[Crabwalk]

I've come around to its charms now. It is a big goof, but bless them for daring to come back with something fun, weird and faintly ridiculous. I bet it'll be great live.

Here's the video:

http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/video/2016/may/13/super-furry-animals-bing-bong-video-premiere

A classic by their standards.

[Sgt. Duckie]

The 5 minutes+ zaniness reminds me of their Guerilla era. Quite an uplifting feeling to see them back for what I hope isn't a one off.

[thecuriousorange]

For comparison's sake here's the official Wales in the Euros 2016 song by Manic Street Preachers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmHnnkzgjCI

Chock-full of "football song" tropes like melancholy verses about previous "oh-so-nears" (complete with snippets of commentary), uplifting singalong chorus, crowd noise, listing player names, and having the team in a recording studio singing and bopping along.

Formulaic shite, but hard to begrudge it completely as Wales never had the opportunity to do one of these.

[Vodka Margarine]

For comparison's sake here's the official Wales in the Euros 2016 song by Manic Street Preachers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmHnnkzgjCI

Chock-full of "football song" tropes like melancholy verses about previous "oh-so-nears" (complete with snippets of commentary), uplifting singalong chorus, crowd noise, listing player names, and having the team in a recording studio singing and bopping along.

Formulaic shite, but hard to begrudge it completely as Wales never had the opportunity to do one of these.

The accolade of 'My favourite Welsh band' remains untroubled.

Also, as goofily lovely as 'Bing Bong' is, I'm a little sad that Euros Childs doesn't seem to have done anything for this landmark national occasion. What a missed opportunity.

[Crabwalk]

For comparison's sake here's the official Wales in the Euros 2016 song by Manic Street Preachers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmHnnkzgjCI

WHAT THE FUUUUCK?? The lyrics throughout this are absolutely horrific, even by football song standards.

Let's not forget Gary Speed
He wore his heart upon his sleeve
and if he is looking down
then our love is all around

A nice sentiment, if clunkily delivered, but is that really how you want to kick off your celebratory anthem? Should've saved that for the middle eight.

For fuck's sake Wales. For fuck's sake Manic Street Preachers.

Let's not forget Richie too
Jumped off a bridge cos he knew
We were about to get shit
And he couldn't handle it

[Captain Z]

Christ almighty, I sniggered a little at this effort recorded by Halifax FC fans, although fair play they are having fun and I've heard worse at folk festivals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ-fbeM4WRs

...but that Manics song was actually written by an actual band with actual number 1 hits...?


On topic, I'm enjoying the SFA tune and have properly gone and paid to download it and everything, which I pretty much never do for digital-only music.

[phantom_power]

Is there an English song?

[alan nagsworth]

The 5 minutes+ zaniness reminds me of their Guerilla era. Quite an uplifting feeling to see them back for what I hope isn't a one off.

But Guerilla is really one of their weaker albums, (especially considering its place in their discography, where it's bookended by fucking belters) a deliberate albeit tongue-in-cheek attempt at pop chart success, and this new song isn't even really on par with Guerilla's material. I think it's pretty shite, quite frankly. I was bored halfway through but hoped it would swing in a new direction so I stuck with it. Fuck all happened.

I'm not hugely disappointed, though. I never expected them to return and they have such an impeccable back catalogue that I don't ever really find myself wanting more from them.

Seriously though the song blows