| "Lazer Beam" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Super Furry Animals | ||||
| from the album Love Kraft | ||||
| Released | 15 August 2005 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, indie rock, funk | |||
| Length | 4:55 (Album version) 3:36 (Radio edit) | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Super Furry Animals | |||
| Producer(s) | Mario Caldato Jr, Super Furry Animals | |||
| Super Furry Animals singles chronology | ||||
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"Lazer Beam" is a single by Super Furry Animals. It was the only single to be released from the Love Kraft album and reached #28 in the UK Singles Chart, and as of 2023, remains their last UK Top 40 hit.[1] The song is "about making your own reality" and tells the story of aliens coming down to earth to shoot humans with laser beams which "make them intelligent rather than being jerks".[2] Some of singer Gruff Rhys's lyrics were lifted from a speech made by Tony Blair at the Labour Party Conference in 2004.[3]
Although critical response to the track was mostly positive, with some journalists hailing "Lazer Beam" as a "return to form",[4] some reviews were scathing with the NME even going so far as to call it "the worst Furries song ever" in their review of 2007's Hey Venus![5]
Two music videos were produced to accompany the song's release as a single. The first, directed by Palumbo & Coch, features a fluorescent cityscape with the band and a monster with their 'SFA' logo, appearing between the translucent buildings while the second, directed by Aurelien and Florian Marrel,[6][7] features a fictional sideways-scrolling arcade beat 'em up in the style of Metal Slug and Michael Jackson's Moonwalker.[7]
- ^ "Search Results -- Singles". everyHit.com. 2008-03-24. Archived from the original on 2007-07-17. Retrieved 2008-03-24.
- ^ Kocan, Alex (c. 2005). "Alex Kocan spoke to Bunf from the Super Furry Animals". LeftLion. Archived from the original on 2009-01-07. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
- ^ Butler, Jim (August 8–14, 2005). "Kraft Works". The Big Issue. 654: 4–6.
- ^ H, Andy (2005-08-15). "Super Furry Animals - Lazer Beam". Angry Ape. Archived from the original on 2008-12-04. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
- ^ "Hey Venus!". NME. 2007-08-29. Archived from the original on 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
- ^ "Current Video Reviews". Music Video Press. c. 2005. Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
- ^ a b Carless, Simon (c. 2005). "Super Furry Animals Get 8-Bit 'Lazer Beam'". GameSetWatch. Archived from the original on 2008-06-23. Retrieved 2008-07-14.