Rings Around the World

The Good: We are living on Saturn…
The Bad: it seems to be inhabited by Super Furry Animals…
The Ugly: Imagining all those Super Furry Animals in zero gravity doing what them furries do…

Never heard of the band before, which shouldn’t come as a surprise as I, as an old fart, know very little about anything released after Y2K.

So, yeah… don’t know.
Not my cup of tea. It’s neither here, nor there. It’s not meat, nor fish…
And I can’t get past the band’s name…

There’s nothing on this album that made me sit back and listen, there’s nothing on this album that I can even recall having sat through…
I guess the poor furries are getting a low score today…

2*

It was pretty good, even if there wasn't anything that particularly stood out to me as a hit. It's a long album, especially if you're listening to the 20th anniversary version.

Another band from my part of the world. I've heard lots of hype for them over the years but had never actually listened to them until now

Sorry to say though it was shit. Lots of noise

2 ⭐️

I’ve known about Super Furry Animals for a long time due to their involvement in McCartney’s Liverpool Sound Collage, and was aware that Paul subsequently contributed an all-time celery and carrot performance on this record. Still, despite knowing and liking the title track of this record, I’d never dove into them before this. And boy, do I feel silly for that now.

What a wonderful journey this record is. More than anything, I appreciate how balanced it is. There are just the right amount of fast, slow, and mid-tempo songs; the electronic elements work perfectly alongside the largely organic frameworks; they’re often throwing the kitchen sink at these arrangements, but they do it in a way that never feels overly dense. This is especially apparent in “Receptable for the Respectable”, which borrows heavily from The Beatles and Beach Boys without venturing into parody or plagiarism. They throw in a little harmonica here, some horns there, some tasty synth for good measure, all while working their way through an ever-changing form…it’s so awesome. And for good measure, the outro is absolutely hilarious.

There are just so many damn highlights here. “(Drawing) Rings Around the World” is a killer pop song dressed up with alternative psychedelia. “No Sympathy” is such a wild ride; again, going back to the theme of balance, the feedback permeating throughout the intro never fully overtakes or distracts from the gorgeous acoustic guitar/electric piano work, and the electronic shift in the outro is batshit insane in the best way. I also love the juxtaposition of the dark lyrics with the beautiful vocal melody. Speaking of juxtaposition, the unexpected Philly soul-inspired “Juxtaposed with U” features some of my favorite lyrics on the record (“I’m not in love with you, but I won’t hold that against you”). “Presidential Suite” is another lyrical gem, underscoring the sweeping music with hysterical commentary.

I feel like I could talk all day about the soundscape of “Alternate Route to Vulcan Street” and dynamic masterclass of “Run! Christian! Run!”. It feels wrong to not mention the expertly crafted mood piece that is “[A] Touch Sensitive”, too. I’ve only listened to this album twice, but I’m quite enamored with it already. Very strong 4.5 stars for me.

4.5/5

I was expecting electronica based on the band name, the album name, and the cover art, but was immediately surprised when I started listening. I enjoyed Alternate Route to Vulcan Street, but the second track was at least a minute too long and then I genuinely disliked the third. The fourth and fifth did not get any better until the outro of the fifth song. I did enjoy the instrumental sixth song, A Touch Sensitive, but then the 7th and 8th songs were entirely forgettable. Starts getting interesting again at No Sympathy (there's the electronica I was expecting!), then we go straight off the rails (in a bad way) with Juxtapozed with U. I kind of checked out after the last one, but Run! Christian, Run! was actually pretty good. Probably my favourite on the whole album.

I want to like it, I really like the background noise and instrumentation, but I just can't stand the singing, the lyrics, or the songwriting. Overall, I think what I've learned most during this project so far is that I don't like britpop.

Also, I was surprised to see the Paul McCartney made a cameo on this album, but turns out it was just some samples of him eating carrots and celery? Yeah, that tracks.

Favourite tracks: Alternate Route to Vulcan Street, A Touch Sensitive, Run! Christian, Run!

Цікавий і досить недооцінений гурт. Rings Around The World це дуже еклектичний альбом, де, наприклад кінцівка Receptacle for Respectable звучить буквально як сучасні БТБАМ.

Взагалі поважаю Райса і компанію, із задоволенням послухав цей альбом.

A diverse and lush soundscape that indicates a willingness to experiment. Sadly, some of it doesn't work.

It's ok but a bit noisy at times.

I’ve never been a fan of Super Furry Animals, so I expected this to be a tough listen. After not enjoying Fuzzy Logic at all, I was surprised to see them get a second album on this list—this band has just never clicked with me.

"Alternate Route to Vulcan Street" has potential but never really gets going. From there, Sidewalk Serfer Girl follows, offering little more than standard UK rock of its time. It’s a dull start, and the album never picks up or improves from there. To be fair, the band experiments with different sounds throughout, but none of it really lands for me.

Favorite song: Touch Sensitive—one of the few tracks I enjoyed. Juxtapozed With U was also a good one. These two tracks alone push the album to a 2/5 for me.

Least favorite song: Receptacle for the Respectable—what an awful noise. Minature is also completely pointless.

Album artwork: The cover gives off an electronic music vibe, but that’s not what you get at all. That said, it’s a great cover.

Ik lees nog even mijn luisteraantekeningen van het andere album van deze band na, want geen idee meer wat ik daar van vond. De term hanteerde ik toen nog niet, maar eigenlijk staat er vrij duidelijk: een vergeetbare 3. Dat is dan bij deze bevestigd.

Dit album is nog wat gevarieerder dan het andere. Met name door elektronische toevoegingen. Dat zit wat meer in mijn straatje en omdat het hierdoor minder vergeetbaar wordt, zou ik snel aan 3,5 ster denken. Ze hebben echter ook teveel storende stukjes erin. Niet lang, maar kunnen we bijvoorbeeld de regel hanteren, dat als je de muziek expres laat overslaan, je niet in aanmerking komt om opgenomen te worden in dit boek?...Dit is al de zoveelste keer... De ergernissen zijn bij mij groot genoeg voor strafpunten. Kom ik toch weer op een 3.

Very Of Montreal. Kind of Surreal, Kind of pop, all wonderful.

I'm quite impressed with this. It's a really varied, eclectic record, with lots of interesting approaches and bits of detail. I like the vocal harmonies, the variance in instruments and just the general mood. It's quite floaty in places, but dramatic and bombastic in others.

Delightful weirdness from when the century was still shiny and new. I'd never listened to Super Furry Animals before, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to discover them.

Nice to see SFA’s in this project.

First album I've actually listened to in a while (too familiar with everything since). Gruff Rhys rules. John Cale featuring is an instant 20 cool points.

Just on the arsty enough side of indie rock for me. 10 cymrus

More expansive and ecclectic than I was expected (I think I was expecting Supergrass) - this brings elements of trip hop, shoegaze, and 90s alt/indie rock for a spacey album of beat-driven extended instrumental passages, and zonked out psychedelia. It's a mix of Portishead and Beta Band, but not as good as either. The slower orchestra backed tracks are really plodding and bloated, like the worst aspects of a 70s concept album. Mostly woozy, floaty, and kind of boring.

This album really blew me away. I was very impressed by the seamless mix of different styles and genres. "Receptacle for the Respectable" and "No Sympathy" really stood out as amazing surprises. I loved every song but "Presidential Suite", which was the clear low point on the album. All that considered, 12/13 is pretty damn impressive. 4.8/5 -> 5/5

What ever the hell this is.

Beneath the soft fuzzy exterior lurks a dark, sinister inside.

Probably one of the more interesting albums that didn't about the crap or if me. Chill at parts, weird at others, but pretty good overall. 4/5