#445 Acid Casuals - Omni

Stumbled across this - the Super Furry Animals guy put out an instrumental electronic album? Gotta hear that

Gruff Rhys (edit: Shit! I've been told Gruff had nothing to do with this, total fail on my part: SFA Keyboardist Cian Ciaran is the man behind the curtain here. Amateur hour.) had long dabbled in these kinds of electronicey instrumental meanderings, see Alternate Route to Vulcan Street and (A) Touch Sensitive on Rings Around the World alone, and that basic style is what's on display here. There's loping bass, skittery drums, and that signature peaning electronic chime that sounds like a lighthouse sweeping across the sea, into your eyes, and back around the mountain, in the span of a quarter note.

But its a bit more than that, I'm not even sure that "electronic" is that fair a description. The songs have an organic quality, with enough piano and jazzy flourishes to put this into a broader Enossified experimental category. Some of it drags, and the overall tone doesn't quite manage to rock nor soothe, occupying some odd Jamiroquied middle ground. Kraken and J.T. 100% in particular never quite get off the ground. But the highlights, like the beautiful, sprightly Hancocky Wa Da Da and the gorgeous, downright pop closer Bowl Me Over, make it worth a listen, and may entice enough repeat listens to tease out some finer points.

Speaking of that last track: there was a trend in among underground 90's acts to put a weirdly upbeat, comparatively dancy, repetitive song as your last track (most notably Loveless and Emergency & I, though as an aside-aside Slanted & Enchanted and Doolittle do the opposite and end on a track that seems like it could have been any track out of the middle, were those guys even trying to craft an arc?) Point is, this is the first example I can think of where a weird electronic act ends on a poppy song, instead of the other way around.

Anyway. Omni. A fun little curiosity, nothing that's going to change my world, but further proof that Rhys (Edit: Cian. Sorry.) is a creative little bastard. I just wish he'd get back to making songs that were more fun 3/5

You might like this if: you liked the Furries' instrumentals, this is basically an album of them. For the unfamiliar, its an album of lay-low, loping downbeat bass grooves and electronic flourishes. It won't make you bob your head, but it has enough crystalline details and muscle to make you sway