Ice Hockey Hair - Release and Reception

Release and Reception

Ice Hockey Hair was released on CD, 7" and cassette on 25 May 1998 and reached number 12 on the UK Singles Chart. The CD version of the EP has four tracks while the 7" and cassette feature only "Ice Hockey Hair" and "Smokin'". A 12" vinyl release of Ice Hockey Hair was issued in June 1998 and includes all four songs from the CD version albeit in a different track order. The proverb "Decadence may not be seen as a wholly negative process neither should it be viewed as a terminal state. It's a stage in the process of regeneration and renewal" was to have been featured on Ice Hockey Hair's sleeve but the band eventually decided against the idea as they felt the phrase was too long. "Ice Hockey Hair" was included on the band's 'greatest hits' compilation Songbook: The Singles, Vol. 1, issued in 2004, while "Smokin'" was included on 1998's B-side and rarities compilation Out Spaced. The Wildhearts recorded a cover of "Ice Hockey Hair" for their 2008 album Stop Us If You've Heard This One Before, Vol 1.

The Melody Maker called the Ice Hockey Hair EP "brilliant, predictably freakish weirdness" and described it as a cross between The Beach Boys and techno while guest reviewers Therapy? claimed to like "Smokin'" better than "Ice Hockey Hair" which they thought was "full-on smoker music". Vox stated that Ice Hockey Hair proved the band's "placid casual grasp of the concept of genius", describing the title track as a "gooey, melted mix of Queen, ELO, Pavement and Techno Animal" and "Smokin'", which they felt was the EP's stand-out song, as "deranged disco delirium". The NME felt that the EP showed the Super Furry Animals had fulfilled their early promise and was the result of the band having "ideas like most people have cups of tea", awarding Ice Hockey Hair 'single of the week' in their 23 May 1998 issue. The magazine called "Smokin'" "compact disco" and stated that "Mu-Tron" was an "ugly name for a beautiful song". "Ice Hockey Hair" was described as a combination of Queen, ELO, Wings and "mad techno squalling" which sounds like "Elton John's glitter-coated grand piano" falling from the sky. Allmusic described the Ice Hockey Hair EP as "another fun, cool group of songs from a band that can seemingly do no wrong" which bridges the gap between the "spaced-out rock" of 1997's Radiator and the "pop/rock electronic experimentation" of 1999's Guerrilla. The website did take issue with the short length of the record however, suggesting that the Super Furry Animals' music works best "in large doses of pop/rock gem upon pop/rock gem".

In their review of Songbook: The Singles, Vol. 1, Drowned in Sound claimed that "Ice Hockey Hair" "could be the most perfect thing you'll ever set ears upon" while the BBC viewed the "sublime" track as one of the record's highlights. Also reviewing Songbook..., Pitchfork Media called the song a "non-album gem", The Washington Post called it "gorgeous" and Allmusic referred to it as a masterpiece. Reviewing Outspaced, the Melody Maker described the "filthily funky" "Smokin'" as brilliant and Select called it one of the "joyous pinnacles" of the album, suggesting that the track was inspired by P-Funk. The NME however, called "Smokin'" "sludgy" and suggested that it was Outspaced's "fairly naff nadir".

Stylus Magazine named Ice Hockey Hair in a list of "Ten essential singles/EPs" released by Creation Records in a 2003 article about the label. "Ice Hockey Hair" was included in The Pitchfork 500, a list of the greatest songs released from 1977 to 2006, published by Pitchfork Media in 2008.