By naming themselves Super Furry Animals it would seem a band is
trying to cultivate a cuddly, friendly image.
The Furry Animals quickly dispelled that notion Monday night at
the Palace. In a set that ranged from near greatness to tryingly
indulgent, the Welsh band proved both that it is a good music-maker
and that the members are bitterly opposed to “The Man”
in his various incarnations.
The members of Super Furry Animals do not like Christianity.
Note the performance of the satirical song “Run Christian
Run,” from the overwhelmingly solid 2002 Furry Animals
release “Rings Around the World.” During the song, the
big screen behind the band was filled with paragraphs of writing
exposing some of the religion’s more obvious hypocrisies.
The Furry Animals also don’t like violence, which was
effectively denounced in more animation played behind the band
where a gun and swordplay was mocked. And, of course, the Furry
Animals don’t like the government a bit. The band proved this
with still more negative projections on screen, as well as scathing
anti-governmental lyrics.
Fortunately, besides having agendas the Furry Animals have some
pretty impressive musical talent.
While the Palace didn’t prove itself the best venue in the
area, with speakers needlessly behind the audience making some
songs unnecessarily ear-shattering, the Furry Animals had some
transcendent moments.
The band’s harder rocking earlier material and
guitar-heavy newer songs created a dense wall of sound that
didn’t leave much room to breathe. But it would please fans
amped up for that kind of material.
The true highlights of the show were the songs that created a
little more space within the sound and allowed the vocals a higher
place in the mix.
The Furry Animals create some complex and appealing soundscapes
filled with keyboards, electronic sounds and shifts in melody. It
was these moments that offered the most aural pleasure.
The band played almost the entirety of the “Rings Around
the World,” which includes the two best songs played all
night.
In “Receptacle for the Respectable,” the different
sections allowed the band to show its versatility. The best song of
the night was the slow “Alternative Route to Vulcan
Street.”
Accompanied by a spinning disco ball, the song created a spacey
atmosphere that captured the best of the Furry Animals: a fun,
quirky, slightly cheesy and still rocking aesthetic that the
listener can disappear into.
Sadly, the night ended with the Furry Animals playing up their
more pretentious side. After walking offstage they let an
electronica song blare from the speakers for an ungodly long
time.