Super Furry Animals

Between regular records and a slew of side-projects, it's amazing that the Super Furry Animals are still able to churn out consistently excellent records. Hot on the heels of lead singer Gruff Rhys' triumph with Neon Neon last year the Welsh stalwarts deliver Dark Days/Light Years, a groove-driven album that adds '70s Krautrock to the fuzzed-out '60s pop rock that inspired the group's Rings Around the World/Phantom Power high water marks. Reportedly made up of instrumental bits thought up over the past few years, this is the band at their jammiest, stretching out like never before, particularly on epic album closer "Pric." Early listens fail to reveal standouts with the pure joy of older SFA tracks like "Juxtaposed With U." But Dark Days/Light Years is a far more coherent and inspired record than the group's last pair of discs and proves that a decade-and-a-half into their career, Super Furry Animals are still ready to flip their script and forge ahead in new directions.