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Did somebody say ‘mature?’

There’s definitely something in the water in Wales . Not only is everybody I’ve ever met from the place certifiably mad (in a nice way, of course), but a fair amount of the bands that coming out of Wales are making suitably bonkers music. For example, there’s Goldie Lookin’ Chain, the fake Hip-Hop collective whose members including the likes of ‘Adam Hussain’. Then you have Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci (Pronounced ‘Monkey’, in case you were wondering), a 5-piece fronted by what looks like an overgrown 12-year old boy, singing about taking psychedelic mushrooms and patios bursting into flame. Of course, Wales also has its fare share of the painfully dull (Tom Jones, Stereophonics), but you can’t have everything, can you?

Perhaps the crowning glory for the Welsh reputation for weirdness is The Super Furry Animals. As a group, they’re about as sensible as their name. Breaking onto the scene in 1996 with their first English-language album ‘Fuzzy Logic’, they quickly built up a reputation for being UFO-obsessed, acid-drenched, conspiracy-theory wielding nutters from the Welsh valleys. Their songs were about 19-year old boys getting abducted by aliens, infamous Welsh international drug-dealer Howard Marks, and paeans to their guitarist pet hamster, Stavros. This is a band that used to performs with 40ft inflatable bears on stage and once released an EP entitled ‘Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyndrobwllantysiliogogogochynygofod (In Space)’. Are you building up an accurate picture of the band? Good. Because I’ve got news for you. The Super Furry Animals just grew up.

Set to be released on August 15 th, their latest Album ‘Love Kraft’ can be associated with a word you’d never have thought of using in the same sentence as the group – ‘mature’. After seven albums and more than 10 years together, it’s the sound of a band that have survived the collapse of the label that nurtured them, (the definitively ‘Britipop’ Creation Records) and that managed to finally shake off the misapplied ‘Britipop’ label that tarnished the group for many years. The Super Furries were always about much more than Britpop, with their influences coming as much from techno and psychedelic folk as 60s ‘power pop’ and Kinks b-sides.

The album was recorded in three weeks in Figueres, 100km north of Barcelona , and mixed in a suburb of Rio De Janeiro . The change from the Welsh drizzle [RAIN] that usually forms the backdrop for the band couldn’t be more acute. And a healthy dose of sun has clearly had an effect on these five usually pale-faced boys.

Involving 100-voice choirs, lush string arrangements and beautiful, soaring pieces of songwriting, this is perfect Sunday morning listening. Gone are the angry guitars, the three-minute punky anthems, gone is the amusingly adolescent obscenity of songs like ‘The Man Don’t Give A F***.’ It’s the sound of an astonishingly accomplished group performing some astonishingly touching love songs.

For a band which takes a genuine interest in global politics and current affairs, it’s definitely their most apolitical album to date. It also looks set to project them into the major league - the band are supporting both U2 and Oasis on tour. So it’s nice to see that on the cusp of genuine commercial success, wilding an album that looks set to make a serious mark on the charts, the band are a long way from forgetting their political roots. Their live tours feature rather unflattering video projections of Bush and Blair accompanied by slogans such as “all governments are liars and murderers”. Moreover, in a world where having your music used as accompaniment for an advert is one of the most powerful motors for chart success, where providing the backing for a Levis ad literally guarantees you the number one chart slot, the group refuse to allow any of their songs to be used in any commercials. Ever. Coca-cola recently offered them a staggering seven-figure sum to use their music in a worldwide advertising campaign. What did these welsh smalltown-boys do in response? They turned Coca-cola down. ‘Love Kraft’ might be the sound of five angry young men growing up. What it’s not is the sound of them selling out.