A few words of warning: Love Kraft does not contain a ‘Do Or Die’, a ‘Golden Retriever‘ or a ‘Something For The Weekend‘; no standout, pure pop rushes to instantly fall head over heels for. The key words here are “Depth”, “Decadence” and most importantly “Soul”. It’s there in the luscious, seven minute opener ‘Zoom!’ a sumptuous amalgam of swooping and soaring strings, trumpet flourishes and a heavenly Gospel choir backing. And it’s there in the 60’s/White Album influenced ‘The Horn’ (a tribute to life on the road, “Rock, rock the freeway, drink, smoke, love, enjoy the ride”). But most of all it’s there in the album standout ‘Frequency‘ – showing a band at the top of their game. There’s no sonic trickery ala the Rings Around The World‘ album era, just some “Doo, doo, do, dooo’s” a sixties girl group beat, sweeping string arrangements, a floaty melody – which is going to sound joyous whether it’s tipping down and gloomy or blazing sunshine outside – and the uplifting lyrics of “Take another leaflet from the stand, put a stick on some land/Bring another baby to the world, hand in hand we could break the command”. It’s the Super Furries in full flow and it’s a beautiful thing. So then; no gimmicks, no ex-Beatles eating vegetables, no hardcore techno, and certainly no WW1 vehicles, just 12 fantastic songs and the special feeling that even in this “ridiculously dark world” (as Gruff has pointed out in interviews) there’s a band like the Super Furry Animals to love and cherish.
