A guest series by The Robster
#25: Show Your Hand (2007, Rough Trade, RTRADS402)
For the first time since their very first release way back in 1995, a whole calendar year passed without a single Super Furry Animals release. Their contract with Sony was up, and so the band found themselves signing a new deal with legendary indie label Rough Trade. It would have been easy to call it a day, or take an extended break and concentrate on other projects (Gruff released his debut solo album ‘Yr Atal Genhedlaeth’ a few months before the Furries ’ last album ‘Love Kraft’ in 2005). Instead, the band headed back into the studio to record new material.
The approach was different to previous records. It was during the tour to promote ‘Love Kraft’ that the band realised there was a “very different atmosphere” in their audiences when the new songs were played. ‘Love Kraft’ wasn’t exactly full of rockers, most of the songs were mid-tempo, strings-laden and rather chilled. The crowds weren’t overly enthused by them in the live setting, so the decision was made to make the next album “a really abrasive, loud record”, according to Gruff. “It’s definitely the first time our audience has influenced our music in that sense.” In addition, label boss Geoff Travis also told the band he’d like “one of those pop records like you used to make”.
You could argue that the resulting album ‘Hey Venus!’ wasn’t that abrasive or loud, but it was undoubtedly more pop than its immediate predecessor, and a lot shorter. In fact, at just 36½ minutes in length, it remains the shortest album in the band’s catalogue. For the longer-term fans, it signalled a sort-of return to what the band did best – a quick blast of largely unadorned psyche-infused rock-pop songs with an occasional twist that marked them uniquely as the product of Super Furry Animals.
To announce the new record, Show Your Hand was released as a single on 16th July 2007, though initially only as a download – a sign of where the music industry was heading.
mp3: Show Your Hand
It was an interesting choice for the lead single, not least because it hadn’t been included in the band’s first tracklist draft as they felt it sounded “too generic”. Geoff Travis disagreed, insisting it could be a single with a little bit of work. The addition of a French Horn to the mix finally convinced the band to include ‘Show Your Hand’ on the album.
For me, it’s a decent song, something not unlike the ‘Rings…’-era, but I sometimes sway towards the band’s original thoughts of it being a bit… normal. It has some nice touches though – the harpsichord for starters, and I’m a sucker for a gorgeous French Horn (oi, quiet at the back!) The critics all seemed to love it, but once again couldn’t agree on who it sounded like – The Beach Boys, The Zombies and Burt Bacharach were all bandied around, as was the term “classic Furries”, which let’s face it, is a bit of a lazy cop out.
Four weeks after the digital release, two physical formats were put out. The following week, Show Your Hand entered the UK chart at #46 which is as high as it got. It was only the band’s second single in 10 years not to crack the Top 40 (the other was Ysbeidiau Huelog which was a weird Welsh song only released on vinyl in very limited quantities). In fairness, it was probably due to the fact that as it had already been downloadable for a month, maybe the fans weren’t going to rush out and buy something they were already familiar with.
More fool them (if that were the case) as they missed out on the b-sides. Both 7” picture disc and CD formats included this track, originally demoed a few years earlier:
mp3: Alluminium Illuminati
One of the band’s best b-sides since the ‘Rings Around The World’ era. This one really is “classic Furries”, harking back to the days when glam rock was still a big part of their sound. I do wonder why it never made it onto ‘Hey Venus!’. It certainly had room for one more song, and this one wouldn’t have been out of place. A really good tune.
The CD single also included this track:
mp3: Never More
Not a homage to Edgar Allan Poe, but another of those psychedelic glam rock stompers we used to enjoy on a SFA flipside. Not really one for the album this, but those loud guitars they alluded to are prominent. The drums right at the start gave a hint as to what the next single would sound like…
Now, as I mentioned last week, bonus tracks are not so easy to come by for this period of the band’s career, not at the moment, anyway. So I find myself digging a little deeper than normal. That said, I’ve got two that might constitute a bonus 7” for you. The first, a live version of Show Your Hand from 2007’s Glastonbury Festival, a couple of weeks before the single’s release.
mp3: Show Your Hand [live at Glastonbury]
And the fact that Alluminium Illuminati was originally demoed for ‘Phantom Power’ means it was included in that album’s 20th Anniversary Edition package. It’s the fully-formed song, but minus the loud guitars, more an acoustic version. I think I prefer the later b-side version, personally…
mp3: Alluminium Illuminati [2002 demo]
Next week, we go all Phil Spector on your super furry arses…
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
I really like Show Your Hand. However like a few songs on this album you have to listen to it a number of times to appreciate it and it hasn’t got that instant impact of earlier SFA singles. I got the feeling post ‘RATR’ that Griff was already plotting a solo career – that may be harsh but for me their work post 2005 wasn’t as unique as their recordings 1996-2004. Doesn’t mean there aren’t any gems to come in your series though!
One real annoyance with this single is that, given the chance to plug the single on GMTV, they acted like a bunch of sulky schoolkids. Guys, this is a chance to get your music exposed to a wider audience. I was so furious with them when I watched this at the time:
Also, after having some great single and album covers over the years, the covers of this and the Hey Venus album were beyond atrocious.
Not their finest hour.
@mnfennel: I totally get where you’re coming from. As I said last week, digital music access meant there was less mystery behind the band’s sound and influences as no one had to hunt them down in obscure corners of record shops anymore. Therefore it was difficult for the band to continue sounding “different”.
@kontroller: Yes, the artwork was not designed by Pete Fowler as everything else post-Fuzzy Logic was, it was a Japanese artist called Keiichi Tanaami who was responsible. I know Gruff is very into Japanese art and music, and apparently the band saw his work during a tour in Japan and were blown away by it. They actually loved what he did for the album and its singles, but it divided fans. I’m not sure what I think of it to be honest. I love Pete Fowler’s work, but I’m certainly in no position with the band’s point of view.
Such a great series. As much as I worship at the church of Fowler, I actually like this period artwork. nothing wrong with trying something new!
Never More is a hell of a song.