Super Furry Animals - 'Dark Days/Light Years' (Rough Trade) Released 13/04/09

16 years in a band; touring, recording, repeat. Something has to give. It seems to be the era of the experienced, with Elbow, in existence for twenty years, finally invited onto the success train, Radiohead, around since the eighties, declared still as innovators in recording and releasing music and Super Furry Animals, nine albums in, with ‘Dark Days/Light Years’ sounding as fresh and free-thinking as any of this year’s debut albums.

Super Furry Animals completely fail to sound worn or fed up. Perhaps that’s the momentum Gruff Rhys’ has brought from last year’s electro-pop project Neon Neon. More likely, it’s because ‘Dark Days…’ consists entirely of old riffs and grooves, kept as spares over the years and finally brought to light. Whilst this could have crashed and burned, whilst this record’s final output could have sounded jumbled and sporadic, everything feels on course and even.

And it’s hardly as if the record follows one direct route. Their native Welsh tongue makes a much-welcome appearance on ‘Lliwiau Llachar’, a fully fledged summertime tune, capable of strapping shorts and sunglasses onto you in the midst of April’s showers. ‘Inaugural Trams’ has taken lessons in German, with Nick McCarthy of Franz Ferdinand contributing spoken word in that very language. The best titled track of the year, ‘The Very Best of Neil Diamond’ travels to Eastern Europe musically but specifically takes the Cold War quote of Ronald Reagan in chorus lyrics “trust but verify.” Rhys and co. have honed in to a variety of cultures and vibes, still somehow achieving the quintessentially upbeat sound belonging to the band. But were it not for the final two tracks and the joyous, eight-minute long, underwater-sounding ‘Cardiff in the Sun’, you wouldn’t have been able to guess their heritage without listening to previous works.

’Dark Days/ Light Years’’ title is misleading, for the very thing this album boasts is its capability of seducing you from dark moments into sun-tinged ecstasy. See, you could be a banker, riddled with Swine Flu, but you’d still manage to find comfort in this album.