Guerrilla

Guerrilla
Studio album by Super Furry Animals
Released	14 June 1999
Recorded	1999
Genre	Alternative rock, electronic
Length	51:47
Label	Creation
Producer	Super Furry Animals
Professional reviews
Allmusic link NME (9/10) (2/6/2007: Review no longer exists on NME) Pitchfork (8.9/10) link Q [1] Select [2]
Super Furry Animals chronology
Out Spaced (1998) Guerrilla (1999) Mwng (2000)
Singles from Guerrilla
"Northern Lites" Released: 10 May, 1999 "Fire in My Heart" Released: 9 August, 1999 "Do or Die" Released: 17 January, 2000

Guerrilla is the third studio album by Super Furry Animals, released in June 1999 via Creation Records. It peaked at #10 in the UK Album Charts.^[3]

Background

Musical style

The album was deliberately conceived as a "pop" album; a "jukebox sort of album, where you listen to it and every song is different," according to singer Gruff Rhys.^[4] The song "Wherever I Lay My Phone (That's My Home)" was written around the ringtone of a mobile phone with the rhythm track being based on a sample of bassist Guto Pryce tripping over a lead while Huw 'Bunf' Bunford played a note on his guitar.^[5] Singer Gruff Rhys has described Guerrilla as "one of [the band's] most ambitious" records, going on to state that "if any of our records could've sold a lot, this is the one. I don't think the others have been proper pop albums, but I think Guerrilla could have been".^[5] According to Rhys the lyrics on the album are "self-consciously disposable, happy", with one or two exceptions.^[6]

Hidden tracks

There is a hidden track on the CD version of the album called "Citizen's Band". It appears before the first song on the disc and can be found by pressing play at the start and then holding down the rewind button. According to guitarist Huw Bunford, the band had originally intended to hide the track in the album cover itself, by way of a special vinyl sleeve design;^[7]

According to Rhys "We were going to put it on, but we didn't think it fitted in. Next to a lot of those songs, "Citizen's Band" sounded out of place. So we stuck it on as a bonus. We thought it was good. If you have a PlayStation game, you can play it for a few months and discover a new level. We wanted to do something similar on our album."^[8]

Also, after the final song, "Keep The Cosmic Trigger Happy", there is a silence of seven minutes before a very brief reprise of "Chewing Chewing Gum".

Artwork

The band hired artist Pete Fowler again to produce artwork for the album. For their previous album Radiator, he had produced 2D drawings, but for Guerrilla he made 3D models, still in his unique style (most importantly, it was the first instance of his Monsterism designs). The artwork for 2005's Love Kraft returned to the 3D style.

Release

Two versions of the album were released; one with an outer cardboard sleeve, and one without. Printed inside the cardboard sleeve is an introduction to the hidden track, "The Citizen's Band". The actual CDs and CD sleeves were the same for both versions. The album was reissued in 2005 with a bonus CD featuring additional tracks recorded around the same time as the album.

Track listing

All songs by Super Furry Animals.

0. "The Citizen's Band" (Hidden track, requires manual rewinding from the beginning of track 1)
1. "Check It Out" – 1:26
2. "Do or Die" – 1:59
3. "The Turning Tide" – 2:49
4. "Northern Lites" – 3:29
5. "Night Vision" – 4:41
6. "Wherever I Lay My Phone (That's My Home)" – 5:24
7. "A Specific Ocean" – 0:51
8. "Some Things Come From Nothing" – 5:53
9. "The Door to This House Remains Open" – 4:17
10. "The Teacher" – 2:31
11. "Fire in My Heart" – 2:45
12. "The Sound of Life Today" – 0:22
13. "Chewing Chewing Gum" – 4:49
14. "Keep the Cosmic Trigger Happy" – 10:31*
    • "Keep the Cosmic Trigger Happy" lasts just under 3 minutes. There is then a 7 minute pause followed by "Chewing Chewing Gum - Reprise"

Reissue Bonus CD

1. "This, That, and the Other"
2. "Missunderstanding" (sic)
3. "Ms. Spector"
4. "Rabid Dog"
5. "The Matter of Time"
6. "Colorblind"

Personnel

• Super Furry Animals

Additional musicians

• Marcus Holdaway - cello on "The Turning Tide"
• Katie Wilkinson - viola on "The Turning Tide"
• Jaqueline Norrie - violin on "The Turning Tide"
• Julia Singleton - violin on "The Turning Tide"
• Steve Waterman - trumpet on "Northern Lites"
• Andrew Robinson - trombone on "Northern Lites"
• A D Gibson - trumpet on "Northern Lites"
• Kris Jenkins - percussion on "Northern Lites"
• Euros Wyn - flute on "Northern Lites"

References