Critical Response
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
| The Guardian | |
| The Independent | (favourable) |
| NME | (8/10) |
| Pitchfork Media | (7.8/10) |
| Q | |
| Stylus Magazine | B− |
| The Times | |
| Uncut | |
| Yahoo! Music (UK) | |
Hey Venus! received a generally favourable reception from critics with The Independent stating that the album "marks a welcome return to form for the Furries" and is "fit to challenge Rings Around the World and Phantom Power as their most satisfying work" and Artrocker calling it the Super Furry Animals' "eighth excellent album in a row". Allmusic hailed Hey Venus! as a "full-fledged return to pop power ... by far the tightest record SFA has released since Radiator" while Yahoo! Music UK claimed the album is "among the greatest things have ever done". London's Time Out described Hey Venus! as "a treasure trove of left-of-centre sun-pop that, by rights, should see them back on the radio all day, every day" and the NME claimed that the "melodies on Hey Venus! are certain to ensnare new hearts in a way hardly any bands who've been around as long as the Furries can".
However, some reviews pointed out that the album has the "faint whiff of musical conservatism" with both Uncut and Q calling it a "missed opportunity", the former going on to describe the record as "a consolidation of affairs rather than a step forward" and suggesting that, "while no means a stinker" it "must rank as their least adventurous" LP. Allmusic countered this opinion, stating that Hey Venus! contains the kind of "subtle innovations that prove that the Furries can still surprise as they enter their second decade":
| “ | The focus is solely on the song, with each of the 11 tracks standing on its own yet working together to create an addictive 37-minute pop album ... just because this is disciplined in a way that Super Furry Animals haven't been in years doesn't mean they've ceased to progress. | ” |
The track "Run-Away" was singled out for praise by several publications with the Independent on Sunday calling the song "outstanding", Culture Deluxe claiming the track showed the Super Furries at "their pop-best" and proved they "could do no wrong" and the NME stating that "with a chorus as big as guitarist Huw Bunford's new serial-killer beard, it's up there with the most finely polished weapons in the SFA armoury". "Baby Ate My Eightball" received some criticism, with The Independent claiming that it "falls short of expectations, its limp disco groove providing uncertain footing for Rhys's rococo confection of harmonies" and Uncut stating that the song, along with "Neo Consumer", doesn't "tell us anything we didn't already know" about the band.
Read more about this topic: Hey Venus!
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