A guest series by The Robster
#24: Lazer Beam (2005, Epic, 676 011 7)
Ten years after Super Furry Animals released their first EP, they’d come a very long way. They had forged themselves a path that had put them at the very forefront of the Welsh music scene, had stomped a huge footprint in the overall music scene in the UK, and had carved a loyal following across Europe and the USA, and all while doing their own thing and refusing to follow trends, fashions and expectations.
But things were changing. Increased digitisation in the way people consumed music meant there were so many options and all of a sudden, you didn’t have to spend stupid amounts of cash and hours in record shops to find something different. All those obscure techno, psychedelic, indie, 70s rock records were available online without a great deal of effort. All of a sudden, Super Furry Animals were not sounding as “different” as they used to.
They still had plenty of magic mind, it’s just that some of the fanbase they picked up over the previous decade was moving on, and only the most loyal remained. Us faithful were going to be rewarded a few more times, and it started with a new single and album released in August 2005.
MP3: Laser Beam
I love this one. It’s so irresistibly catchy, and it has all those hallmarks of SFA that we love. It’s also a critique of the political and social state of the word at the time (and sadly, two further decades on, still is…) Gruff’s opening lines state:
“This song is daunted by a radical new vision, no more imperial colonial bastards, no more romantic comedies, this is a fanfare introduction to a high-powered, purposeful theme.”
The words “radical new vision”, as well as other phrases in the lyrics, refer to Tony Blair’s speech at the 2004 Labour Party Conference. “I’ve nicked that wholesale,” Gruff would explain. “But I am offering a radical new vision whereas he wasn’t.”
The song is further explained by Bunf thus:
“Today’s reality is insane so we may as well make our own. It’s about aliens coming down from space and zapping humans with amazing lazer beams that make them intelligent rather than being jerks. It’s obviously a highly unlikely scenario”.
Which is a shame, because the one thing our world needs right now is an alien invasion and intelligence. With our world so-called leaders intent on blowing each other up into oblivion (or rather, blowing us into oblivion while they’re safely tucked away in their underground nuclear bunkers safe from the chaos they’ve wreaked), and the ordinary people of the world becoming so disillusioned with it all they’d rather just soak up social media soundbites and bizarre conspiracy theories spouted by weirdos and billionaires (same thing?) rather than actually THINK about what is actually going on, the world is closer to being doomed than we ever thought possible when Laser Beam was released.
Anyway, the genesis of Lazer Beam lies way back during the ‘Guerrilla’ sessions when a track called John Spex was written, demoed and even mixed, but never actually finished. An attempt to revive it for ‘Rings Around The World’ failed to take it any further. But the band felt there was something in it that was worth persevering with, and it was finally reworked and transformed into the backing track for Lazer Beam.
It was the first – and as it turned out – only single from the band’s 7th studio album ‘Love Kraft’. It was also the last single they’d release with Epic/Sony, their contract ending with this album. Maybe that was why only the one track was put out as a single – Sony couldn’t be bothered to promote an act that was leaving them. Another shame, as there are some excellent tracks to be found on ‘Love Kraft’, even if it wasn’t as immediate, or even quite as enjoyable as its immediate two predecessors.
Laser Beam was also the last time the Super Furries would grace the Top 40 singles chart in the UK, peaking at #28 in its first week of release. There were plenty of critics who loved it, describing it as “an absolute powerhouse of a song”, “acid-carnivalesque” and “like a kids TV theme heard through an acid-pop filter”. One or two critics, however, defied the general consensus, but when you consider the NME called it “the worst Furries song ever” at a time when no one took the NME in the slightest bit seriously (and to be fair, no one has ever since), I think we can brush over the negatives. But, the fact that a band so universally loved was starting to attract some less than favourable reviews comes back to what I said at the start – things were beginning to change…
Lazer Beam was released on 7” and CD formats, both of which contained this upbeat little number:
MP3: Sunny Seville
I like this one a lot, but it is so unlike everything else on ‘Love Kraft’ it was always destined to be a b-side. It sounds like it’s a cover rather than an original, it’s so unlike a Super Furry Animals song. However, it might be a hint of what was to come…
The CD also contained this:
MP3: Colonise The Moon
An acoustic track with 60s psych infused into its DNA, and some birdsong. It’s a tad longer than it perhaps should be, but otherwise, both these tracks show an improvement in b-sides over the ‘Phantom Power’ period.
Now, bonus tracks. ‘Love Kraft’ celebrates its 20th birthday this year. At the point of writing, an anniversary edition has not been announced, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed. It means there’s not a huge amount of bonus material to share (something that’s going to become more and more noticeable as we enter the final six weeks of the series), but at least with this single, I can turn to the various promos and collect together some bits and pieces.
MP3: Lazer Beam [radio edit]
MP3: Lazer Beam [Danger Mouse remix]
The Danger Mouse remix offers a radically different interpretation of the song, but I happen to like it. It even plays around with Gruff’s melody in the chorus. In the US, this version (listed as Lazerbeam) was released on a split 7” with a Danger Mouse remix of Easy/Lucky/Free by Bright Eyes.
Two more remixes, neither of which do an awful lot for me, especially the latter which is just rubbish:
MP3: Lazer Beam [DJ Marlboro remix]
MP3: Lazer Beam [LFO remix]
And finally, here’s the song that dates back to the ‘Guerilla’ sessions that eventually became this fine single:
MP3: John Spex [unfinished rough mix]
Next week – the post-Sony years commence…
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 