Critical Response
Although some critics hailed the track as a 'return to form' for the band, with the Manchester Evening News describing the song as a "the best that the Furries have sounded in ages ... a return to the mellow-but-bouncy pop fare of their early albums Fuzzy Logic and Guerilla", others pointed out that "Show Your Hand" is "ponderously mature", rather "straightforward" and "more like the generic pop songs one would find on the radio than of a historically experimental band". However, The Guardian stated that "Show Your Hand" "is the sort of music do best - hazy, lazy sunshine pop". And while Cokemachineglow believed the track "may not have the staying power or the immediate pull of the Super Furry Animals' best singles" their reviewer conceded that "it's not too far behind".
The 'retro' nature of the track was commented on by several critics with The Independent describing the track as being performed in a "sophisticated soft-rock style" which recalls "the arrangements of The Association and Surf's Up-era Beach Boys", Pitchfork Media calling the song "Zombies-esque orchestral pop", and Drowned in Sound describing "Show Your Hand" as "an almost Bacharachian gem":
| “ | Swimming in the dreamy swathes that typified Phantom Power rather than the acid-pop that provides their real edge, "Show Your Hand" is still hewn from a rich seam and glides on a joyously melodic horn and vocal exchange. There's little that sits in the ear more sweetly than Super Fury Animals in this form, and that leaves small room for complaint. | ” |
BBC Wales described "Show Your Hand" as "classic Furries" in a favourable review on their website to coincide with the release of the track as a single going on to state that it is:
| “ | A song of gambling and indecision, with a dark edge and plenty of clever wordplay, it's a perfect record to lift dampened spirits this summer. | ” |
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