Guerrilla (album)
Guerrilla | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 14 June 1999 | |||
Recorded | Mid-1998 | |||
Studio | Real World (Box, England) | |||
Genre | Alternative rock, electronic, Neo-psychedelia | |||
Length | 51:47 | |||
Label | Creation | |||
Producer | Super Furry Animals | |||
Super Furry Animals chronology | ||||
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Singles from Guerrilla | ||||
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Guerrilla is the third studio album by Welsh rock band Super Furry Animals. The record was released on 14 June 1999 by Creation Records and peaked at number 10 in the UK Albums Chart.[1] Guerrilla was conceived as a commercial 'pop' album and was produced by the band themselves, as regular producer Gorwel Owen felt exhausted after a busy schedule working for other bands. Recording took place at Real World Studios, Box, Wiltshire in mid-1998 with the group experimenting with a sampler for the first time and writing a number of songs in the studio. The band tried to create a 45-minute long, immediate sounding record, and therefore chose the upbeat songs from the 25 tracks which were recorded during sessions for the album. Guerrilla was chosen as the album's title as a pun on the group's name.
The album features a mix of musical styles and was described as exemplifying the 'nu-psychedelia' musical genre by British music magazine the
Origins and recording
Guerrilla was deliberately conceived as a commercial-sounding 'pop' album; a "jukebox sort of album, where you listen to it and every song is different," according to singer Gruff Rhys.[2] Rhys has said that the band felt they were waging a "sonic war" against average music and "the mainstream" with the record.[3][4]
The Super Furry Animals had originally intended to work on the album with Gorwel Owen, who co-produced 1996's Fuzzy Logic and 1997's Radiator with the band. According to Rhys, however, Owen felt "burned out" after producing other bands solidly for a year and a half and asked the group to wait until he had chance to rest. The Super Furry Animals were so keen to record that they decided to produce the album themselves.[2] Guerrilla was recorded at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios in Box, Wiltshire during the middle of 1998.[3] Although Rhys has stated that the group met Gabriel several times during recording, and that they thought he was "a good old guy", Real World was chosen because it was near to the band's homes in Wales rather than because of its association with the former Genesis frontman.[2] Sessions were "much less volatile than usual" according to Rhys, as the five members of the band felt they had to reach consensus over everything because they were producing the record themselves—while recording their previous albums the band would often fall out and shout at each other safe in the knowledge that Owen would act as a mediator and take the final decisions.[2] Bassist Guto Pryce has stated that the band also felt happier during recording sessions for Guerrilla because they had their pets with them at Real World, and were able to relax and enjoy the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the British summer.[5]
During recording, the band used a
Around 25 tracks were recorded for Guerrilla, with all members of the band agreeing to trim this number down for the final track listing of the record in order to make a 45-minute-long album which was immediate.[3] The group chose the 'up' songs, the "digital songs with more of a constant rhythm", that they had recorded and left off the 'down' tracks to create a positive "brash and light-weight" record—a "disposable pop album that's too good to throw away".[2][4] According to Bunford, some of the more guitar-orientated songs the group recorded were included on initial track listings and were only left off the record at the last minute in favour of more electronic sounding tracks.[5] Rhys has said that the decision to include "The Teacher" on the album was a decisive moment, as the track is "the most stupid thing on the record"—if a more downbeat song, such as eventual B-side "The Matter of Time", had been included in its place, Guerrilla would have been a much more self-indulgent album.[8] The singer has also stated that the group's "healthy ego problems" would often result in individuals fighting to have some of their own songs removed from the final track listing of the record in favour of songs written by other members.[3] The band chose to sequence the album like a hip hop record, with "Check It Out" as an introduction and "A Specific Ocean" and "The Sound of Life Today" as interludes.[8]
The album's title is pun on the band's name but was also chosen by the group as they felt it had added resonance in the wake of the
Musical style
Guerrilla features an eclectic mix of musical styles and has been described by
The Melody Maker has described opening track "Check It Out" as a "jazz funk" song which turns into dub after its first minute.[12] The magazine went on to state that the song sums up the album due to its "defacement of symmetry" and disorder, which is also evident on "Do or Die", "The Turning Tide" and "The Teacher", all of which start as pop before ending up "skew-whiff under a wealth of hooligan noise".[12] "The Turning Tide" features a string arrangement by High Llamas frontman Sean O'Hagan. According to Rhys the band were happy with O'Hagan's "interesting" arrangement—the track is more serious than many of the other songs on the album and the group found writing a string part for it themselves problematic.[8] "Do or Die" has been described as a "dumb pop song" by Rhys and called "surf pop" by the Melody Maker.[8][10] Rhys has called "Wherever I Lay My Phone (That's My Home)" "metronomical", and stated that it was inspired by mobile phone ringtones. Critics have described the song as a techno track, with Pitchfork calling it "floor-slapping LSD-infused electronica" and Spin stating that it is "a psycho ward of tweaked noises", reminiscent of the music of Daft Punk.[8][13][15][19]
"The Door to This House Remains Open" is a
Lyrical themes
According to Gruff Rhys, Guerrilla's lyrics are largely "self-consciously disposable, happy".[11] "The Door to This House Remains Open" is about "starting a new chapter of your life".[8] Rhys has said that his lyrics, which suggest that people should leave their doors open to others and that international borders should be open to allow immigration, are so optimistic that he is almost embarrassed by them.[8] In contrast "Some Things Come From Nothing" features pessimistic lyrics inspired by the idea that "nothing seems to have any substance any more".[8] "The Teacher" was written by Rhys from a teacher's perspective and was inspired by guitarist Huw Bunford, who was an art teacher before the Super Furry Animals became successful.[9][26] Although Rhys has stated that "Fire in My Heart" features the most clichéd lyrics he has ever written, he has also said that he wrote it with complete sincerity. The track is "soul advice" and is about the many different people in our lives.[8]
"
Release
Guerrilla was released on 14 June 1999 in the United Kingdom on
Pete Fowler, who had designed the sleeve of every Super Furry Animals release since the 1997 single "Hermann ♥'s Pauline", again provided the artwork for Guerrilla. In a departure from the illustrations he had provided for the Radiator campaign, Fowler worked in 3D, creating a model of a yellow monster dubbed the "God of Communications", smoking a pipe and wearing a "mobile phone and bandolier belt".[3] The monster is shown operating "the control panel of the universe" for the cover of the record.[3]
The album features the
Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalogue |
---|---|---|---|---|
United Kingdom | 14 June 1999[27] | Creation Records | Compact disc | CRECD242 |
Cassette
|
CCRE242 | |||
Minidisc
|
CREMD242 | |||
Vinyl record
|
CRELP242 | |||
United States | 27 July 1999[28] | Flydaddy | Compact disc | FLY 036 |
Critical reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [13] |
The Guardian | [33] |
The Independent | [34] |
Melody Maker | [12] |
NME | 9/10[16] |
Pitchfork | 9.5/10[35] |
Q | [22] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [36] |
Select | 4/5[20] |
Spin | 8/10[19] |
Guerrilla received generally positive reviews from critics.
The NME called the album "an acid fried quadrophonic vision of rock 'n' roll" and suggested that it was a masterpiece which could define the era in which it was released, in the same way that
Spin claimed that the album was "more-hit-than-miss" and shows that "prog can be fun". The magazine was critical of "The Turning Tide" and "Northern Lites" however, calling the former "cosmically ridiculous" and the latter "overipe fruit".[19] British newspaper The Independent stated that, although the record includes a number of exceptional tracks, it also features a "lot of noodling" and claimed that it does not compare favourably with the work of The Flaming Lips.[27] Q called Guerrilla a "great big bouncing ball of confusion" and stated that the record "explodes all over the place with almost cartoon glee". The magazine did, however, feel that the record's disparate influences were too often "left hanging like loose wires" and that there was an air of forced eccentricity about the release, despite praising lead single "Northern Lites".[22]
- Accolades
Publication | Country | Accolade | Rank | Year |
---|---|---|---|---|
Iguana Music | Spain | Best albums 1999[41] | 44 | 1999 |
Melody Maker | United Kingdom | Albums of the year 1999[42] | 3 | |
NME | Albums of the year 1999[38]
|
3 | ||
Record Collector | The Best New Albums of 1999[40] | * | ||
Select | Albums of the year 1999[39] | 9 | ||
Uncut | Albums of the year 1999[43] | * | ||
The Village Voice | United States | Albums 1999[44] | 131 | |
NME | United Kingdom | "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".[45] | 311 | 2013 |
Promotion and legacy
Super Furry Animals embarked on a brief, five-date, tour of the United Kingdom, in support of first single "Northern Lites", beginning at Tenby De Valance Pavilion on 27 April 1999 and ending at the
Singer Gruff Rhys has described Guerrilla as "flippant, exciting, with an instant pop rush" and "one of [the band's] most ambitious" records, going on to state that "if any of our records could've sold a lot, this is the one. I don't think the others have been proper pop albums, but I think Guerrilla could have been".[6][34] The band were disappointed with the relative lack of success of the album and its singles—none of which managed to chart inside the Top Ten of the UK Singles Chart—and went on "pop strike" as a result.[54] Because of this the group's next record was the all-Welsh language, lo-fi, Mwng, which the group recorded simply for the joy of making music. The album was recorded in two weeks for just £6,000, in contrast with the "excessive expense" of Guerrilla.[54][55]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Super Furry Animals
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
0. | "Citizen's Band" (hidden in the pregap) | 4:43 |
1. | "Check It Out" (intro) | 1:27 |
2. | "Do or Die" | 1:59 |
3. | "The Turning Tide" | 2:50 |
4. | "Northern Lites" | 3:30 |
5. | "Night Vision" | 4:41 |
6. | "Wherever I Lay My Phone (That's My Home)" | 5:25 |
7. | "A Specific Ocean" (instrumental) | 0:52 |
8. | "Some Things Come from Nothing" | 5:54 |
9. | "The Door To This House Remains Open" | 4:17 |
10. | "The Teacher" | 2:31 |
11. | "Fire in My Heart" | 2:46 |
12. | "The Sound of Life Today" (instrumental) | 0:22 |
13. | "Chewing Chewing Gum" | 4:49 |
14. | "Keep the Cosmic Trigger Happy" (includes hidden track "Chewing Chewing Gum (reprise)") | 8:49 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Rabid Dog" | 3:46 |
2. | "The Matter of Time" | 5:47 |
3. | "Mrs. Spector" | 3:02 |
4. | "Missunderstanding (sic)" | 3:22 |
5. | "Colorblind" | 3:34 |
6. | "This, That and the Other" | 5:53 |
Personnel
Adapted from the liner notes.[7][56]
Super Furry Animals
- Gruff Rhys – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards
- Huw Bunford – lead guitar, backing vocals, samplers
- Guto Pryce – bass guitar
- steel drums, drums, guitar, backing vocals, co-lead vocals on "Chewing Chewing Gum"
- Dafydd Ieuan – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Additional musicians
- Marcus Holdaway – cello on "The Turning Tide"
- Katie Wilkinson – viola on "The Turning Tide"
- Jaqueline Norrie – violin on "The Turning Tide"
- Julia Singleton – violin on "The Turning Tide"
- Steve Waterman – trumpet on "Northern Lites"
- A D Gibson – trumpet on "Northern Lites"
- Andrew Robinson – trombone on "Northern Lites"
- Euros Wyn – flute on "Northern Lites"
- Kris Jenkins – percussion on "Northern Lites"
Production
- Super Furry Animals – production, mixing
- Michael Brennan Jnr. – engineering, assistant mixing (Rockfield Studios), mixing on "Check It Out"
- Nick Addison – engineering
- Claire Lewis – assistant engineering
- Chris Shaw – mixing
- Patrick McGovern – assistant mixing (Strongroom Studios)
- Jon Collyer – assistant mixing (Orinonco Studios)
- Ray Mascarenes – assistant mixing (Orinonco Studios)
- Paul Reed – assistant mixing (Rockfield Studios)
- Ceri Collier – technical help
- Howie Weinberg – mastering
Artwork
- Pete Fowler – sleeve models and paintings
- Artificial Environments – other imagery and graphics
- Simon Corkin – design
- Matthew Donaldson – model photography
Charts
Chart | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Albums Chart | 10[1] |
References
- ^ a b c d "Super Furry Animals". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 17 February 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Brown, Shane (1 September 1999). "Super Furry Animals interview". Excellent Online. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g Male, Andrew (June 1999). "The Wind of Strange". Select (108): 72–79.
- ^ a b c Thompson, Jody (24 April 1999). "SFA 'Guerrilla' in the Midst". NME: 3.
- ^ a b c Manning, Toby (July 1999). "Feature: Q&A". Select (109): 85.
- ^ a b c d Martin, Piers (April 2008). "Album by album: Super Furry Animals". Uncut (131): 70–72.
- ^ a b c d Foster, Richard (10 October 2005). "Incendiary interview Super Furry Animals". Incendiary Magazine. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Beaumont, Mark (12 June 1999). "Underground control". Melody Maker: 17.
- ^ a b c d e Patterson, Sylvia (22 May 1999). "Tripping the Lite Fantastic!". NME: 22–25.
- ^ a b c d Bresnark, Robin (19–25 January 2000). "I like the idea of creating cultural havoc". Melody Maker: 28–30.
- ^ a b c d Carpenter, Troy (c. 2004). "Gruff Rhys – Drawing Rings Around The World". Nude as the News. Archived from the original on 8 August 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Kulkarni, Neil (5 June 1999). "Super Furry Animals: Guerrilla". Melody Maker: 37.
- ^ a b c d e Sullivan, Denise. "Guerrilla – Super Furry Animals". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 November 2010.
- ^ a b c d e Poletti, James (28 May 1999). "Super Furry Animals – 'Guerilla'". Yahoo! Music. Archived from the original on 13 March 2004. Retrieved 23 November 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f Hogan, Marc (6 June 2005). "Super Furry Animals: Fuzzy Logic / Radiator / Outspaced / Guerilla / Mwng". Pitchfork. Retrieved 23 November 2010.
- ^ a b c d e Oldham, James (12 June 1999). "Super Furry Animals – Guerrilla". NME: 31. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- ^ Oldham, James (22 May 1999). "Prankster Trippin'! NME's guide to Nu Psychedelia". NME: 21.
- ^ Kane, Jack (June 1999). "Super Furry Animals". Record Collector (238): 46–51.
- ^ a b c d Himmelsbach, Erik (September 1999). "Super Furry Animals: Guerrilla". Spin. 15 (9): 187–88. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
- ^ a b c d e Manning, Toby (July 1999). "Super Furry Animals: Guerrilla". Select (109): 84–85.
- ^ a b c McNair, James (July 1999). "Super Furry Animals: Guerrilla". Mojo (68): 109.
- ^ a b c Kane, Peter (July 1999). "Super Furry Animals: Guerrilla". Q (154): 124.
- ^ Cigarettes, Johnny (8 May 1999). "Singles". NME: 43.
- ^ Loben, Carl (15 May 1999). "Singles". Melody Maker: 39.
- ^ Hogan, Marc (30 January 2005). "Super Furry Animals Songbook: The Singles Volume One". Pitchfork. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
- ^ BBC Wales. BBC. 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
- ^ a b c Cook, Emma (30 May 1999). "Don't mention Tom Jones". The Independent. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
- ^ CMJ New Music Report: 25–26.
- ^ Sullivan, Denise. "Guerrilla [Bonus CD] – Super Furry Animals". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
- ^ Bresnark, Robin (19–25 January 2000). "I like the idea of creating cultural havoc". Melody Maker: 28–30.
- ^ Long, April (22 January 2000). "The Fan-ish Inquisition". NME: 16–18.
- ^ Southall, Nick (23 June 2006). "Top 10 Things I Hate About CDs". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 8 January 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
- ^ Sullivan, Caroline (28 May 1999). "Pie-eyed Cymru". The Guardian.
- ^ a b Perry, Tim (5 June 1999). "Album Reviews". The Independent. Retrieved 23 November 2010.
- ^ DiCrescenzo, Brent. "Super Furry Animals: Guerilla". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 17 May 2006. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ a b Hepburn, Peter (15 June 2005). "Super Furry Animals: Fuzzy Logic/Radiator/Outspaced/Guerilla/Mwng Reissue". Cokemachineglow. Archived from the original on 14 September 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
- ^ a b "Race Over For the Prize!". NME: 70. 25 December 1999 – 1 January 2000.
- ^ a b "The Men Who Won". Select (115): 78. January 2000.
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- ^ "Albums of the year 1999". RockListMusic. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
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- ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time: 400–301". NME. 24 October 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
- ^ "SFA Bring The Weather". NME. 17 February 1999. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
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- ^ Sheehan, Tom (9 October 1999). "Guerrillas in the Midwest". Melody Maker: 20–21.
- ^ Thompson, Jody (7 August 1999). "Christmas presence promised by SFA". NME: 3.
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- ^ a b Oldham, James (20 May 2000). "I want to get into the brains of every big sister in the world". NME: 18–20.
- ^ Wilson, Lois (June 2000). "Gruff Rhys talks to Lois Wilson". Mojo (79): 97.
- ^ Guerrilla (CD booklet). Super Furry Animals. Creation Records. 1998.
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