| Dark Days/Light Years | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 16 March 2009 | |||
| Recorded | 2007–2009, Faster Recording Studio, Cardiff | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, experimental rock | |||
| Length | 59:54 | |||
| Label | Rough Trade | |||
| Producer | Chris Shaw, Super Furry Animals | |||
| Super Furry Animals chronology | ||||
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| Alternative cover art | ||||
_coverart.jpg) Vinyl cover art | ||||
Dark Days/Light Years is the ninth studio album by Super Furry Animals, released digitally on 16 March 2009 via the band's website, with a physical release following on 21 April on Rough Trade Records.[1] The album's title is taken from a lyric in the song "Moped Eyes" ("dark days seem light years away").
Many of the songs on the album are based on riffs and grooves the band had been working on for several years.[1] The band originally planned to record the album in Miraval, France like their previous effort Hey Venus!, but decided to record in Cardiff with a considerably lower budget than previous efforts.
The completion of the album was documented by a series of 22 short films that were shown on the Super Furry Animals website, with one film added each day leading up to its original digital release. The videos were inspired by the Mike Figgis film Timecode and were described by The Guardian as "at once enormously dull, pleasingly insightful and curiously compelling."[2][3]
Longtime sleeve designer Pete Fowler collaborated with Hey Venus! artist Keiichi Tanaami to produce the album's artwork.[1] According to Rhys, Tanaami wanted to work with the band having seen Fowler's previous Super Furry Animals record sleeves.[4] The track "Inaugural Trams" includes spoken word German vocals by Franz Ferdinand's Nick McCarthy.[5] The song impacted radio on April 21, 2009.[6] The band broadcast a live show on their own website (superfurry.com) featuring songs from the album on the day of its digital release, which proved a success despite initial technical glitches.[7] They didn't tour the album in a conventional manner, gigging infrequently.[8]
The 12" vinyl release features different artwork from the CD version, and also has a free copy of the album on CD slipped inside the sleeve. The album peaked at #23 in the UK Album Charts in its first week of physical release. It may have charted higher but the band sold a number of pre-order copies and digital downloads via their website, which is not a registered chart company.
At just over an hour, it is the band's longest album.
To promote the album, lead singer Gruff Rhys described it as having a "biblical sound," and said that the band wouldn't be able to play any of its songs indoors.[9]
- ^ a b c "Super Furry Animals reveal new album title". NME. 29 January 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
- ^ Salmon, Chris (27 February 2009). "Feeding time at the studio". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
- ^ "It's the Super Filmy Animals". The Guardian. 25 February 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
- ^ Usborne, Simon (12 April 2009). "How We Met: Pete Fowler & Gruff Rhys". The Independent. London. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
- ^ "Franz Ferdinand collaborate with Super Furry Animals". NME. 4 April 2009. Retrieved 6 April 2009.
- ^ "AllAccess.com Alternative eWeekly". AllAccess. 14 April 2009. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
- ^ "Live Review - Super Furry Animals online gig". Archived from the original on 21 March 2009.
- ^ Diver, Mike (28 April 2009). "Super Furry Animals interview". Clash. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
- ^ Pinnock, Tom (8 April 2009). "Super Furry Animals plot 'incredible' return". BBC News. Retrieved 1 May 2010.