This is a Random Album Generator.
One album a day.
From the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Rings Around The World

Super Furry Animals

2001

Buy At Rough Trade
Rings Around The World
Album Summary

Rings Around the World is the fifth studio album and the major label debut by Super Furry Animals. Released on 23 July 2001 by Epic Records in the United Kingdom, it was the first album by any artist to be simultaneously released on both audio CD and DVD. The record reached number 3 in the UK Albums Chart and includes the singles "Juxtapozed with U", "(Drawing) Rings Around the World" and "It's Not the End of the World?". The album, which singer Gruff Rhys describes as "a very ambitious project", was recorded between April and September 2000 at Monnow Valley Studios in Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales and Bearsville Studios, New York with the band acting as co-producers alongside Chris Shaw. The majority of the songs on Rings Around the World were written by Rhys on guitar and piano with keyboardist Cian Ciaran contributing "[A] Touch Sensitive" and "Miniature" as well as collaborating with other members of the band on "Run! Christian, Run!", "Alternate Route to Vulcan Street" and "No Sympathy". Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and former Velvet Underground member John Cale make cameo appearances on the album. Musically Rings Around the World is an eclectic record incorporating pop, prog, punk, jungle, electronica, techno and death metal. Rhys has offered several explanations of the album's lyrical content, claiming the record is "about Earth, and the pollution of space" and also that it addresses the human condition. Critics meanwhile have referred to the record as "thematically eccentric" and lacking an "overarching theme". Critical reception was generally positive, with the album being nominated for 2001's Mercury Music Prize and placing at #1 in Mojo's "best albums of 2001" feature. Some reviews claimed it to be the best record of the band's career although the NME described it as the band's worst album.

Wikipedia

Rating

3

Votes

10054
Genres
Rock
Indie
Britpop

Reviews

Like a review? Give it a thumb up to help us display relevant reviews!
Sort by: Top Date
View Author
Tue Oct 13 2020
5

Right up my alley. Loved the switches between harmonic and abrasive sounds

👍
View Author
Mon Apr 05 2021
2

I was expecting electronic music going by the cover, but instead it's more UK rock. This shit all just sounds the same - it's not bad, but I'm bored of the sound. It's really.... pretentious/ambitious/etc, but it's actually just long, pompous pop songs and a lot of samples, vocal layering etc. I mean there's a song called "juxtaposed" ffs. 2/5. Would have been a 3 but it just goes way too long.

👍
View Author
Sun Feb 07 2021
5

So far this has been the most unexpectedly amazing album on the list. How have I not heard about this album? Loved it.

👍
View Author
Wed Jan 27 2021
5

I truly wasn't expecting the wide variety of styles in this album, or how they'd be so artfully combined into a cohesive album that managed to hang together despite covering so much musical territory. I will definitely revisit this album going forward, as well as tell others to check it out. Top Track - No Sympathy.

👍
View Author
Wed Oct 27 2021
1

I'm down with vagueness, especially when it corresponds to ambiguity, but this type of unplaceable nostalgia is all artifice. It's a distancing act between perfomer and audience, form and meaning. It's a period piece made solely so the performers can raid the costume cupboard. It might be tolerable if they weren't so insist that "floaty" and "evocative" are the same thing.

👍
View Author
Thu Sep 10 2020
5

Honestly one of the best albums I’ve ever had the pleasure to listen to. It’s fun, every track has incredible song progression, and it never gets stuck in one specific sound.

👍
View Author
Thu Jun 17 2021
5

Genre bending prog that's full of surprises. His voice reminds me of Damon Albarn at points but really doesn't sound like anything I've heard before. Some of the songs are hilarious in both their writing and progression, like the industrial noise outro of No Sympathy that transitions into the lounge strings of Juxtaposed with U. Also loved the places that Receptacle for the Respectable took me. Presidential Suite also gets an honourable mention. Loved it all.

👍
View Author
Sat May 29 2021
5

I think this solidified my love of the Cool Cymru movement. Phenomenal stuff, psychedelia that isn't all about the trip if that makes sense.

👍
View Author
Wed Feb 10 2021
5

first of all i’d been wanting to check out super furry animals some time soon so i’m glad they were recommended to me today when the genre said rock i was kinda worried bc i don’t like anything too heavy but this was a pleasant surprise. rly chill, rly enjoyed listening

👍
View Author
Thu May 13 2021
5

Blunt vocals coupled by translational instrumentals scores. Appreciated each song of this album for its different moods. Can’t complain about any part of this album.

👍
View Author
Fri Jul 09 2021
5

Really interesting. I personally loved the cinematic feel to this album

👍
View Author
Thu Jun 16 2022
5

It’s a surprise to have a second Super Furry Animals album. I’m curious to see how this varies from Fuzzy Logic. Right away I noticed the difference. Some cool harmonies - “Rings Around the World” is like a 21st successor to The Beach Boys by way of ELO with the noise turned up. I love it! Nice harmonies throughout, some clever lyrics, and a whole lot of great sounds to take in. Horns that could have come from Burt Bacharach, lounge music, grinding guitars, electronica, beach-friendly harmonies, weird sci fi effects and a lot more merge into some catchy, catchy songs. Really unique and really wonderful! Speaking of lyrics: “You expose the film in me” “I got some feelings I can’t get through, I’ll just binge on crack and tiramisu” “You came to me in peace and left me in pieces” “I’m not in love with you, but I won’t hold that against you” “With knives to their throat they’ll depart on the midnight train to Jordan” “But I’m in Deep Space Nine, Hitting wormholes all the time” And how about that ending to “No Sympathy”?! YES! Then dive into the oh so robot lounge-y “Juxtaposed With You.” OH YES! The 1001 gods have been serving up some good, unique albums lately. When I first saw this I worried it wouldn’t hold up. I’m glad to find it’s a great album I’m very happy to have around!

👍
View Author
Tue Mar 23 2021
2

Listenable but not likeable.

👍
View Author
Thu Feb 24 2022
2

What's this? Cover looks like potentially electronica? No. I mean yes, but really, no. Also, no thank you. This album is a mess. Nothing especially landed with me, and nothing made it gel as an album either. I didn't hate ever song, but also none were outstanding. Surely there are 1001 albums in the world better than this one.

👍
View Author
Thu Oct 07 2021
1

A failed attempt at fusing and melding different music styles. No place on this list.

👍
View Author
Sat Jul 31 2021
5

Neat rock album! Very interesting. Not a bad track on the album.

👍
View Author
Fri Mar 04 2022
5

Probably my favourite Super Furries album, and I'm pretty sure I saw them live on the tour supporting it, and that was one of my all time favourite gigs. Fave track - "Run! Christian! Run!" - absolutely blew my tiny mind when I saw it live, and it's been one of my favourite tracks by any band ever since....

👍
View Author
Thu Aug 18 2022
5

Generally, and typically excellent, but gets an extra star for Run Christian Run, which is up there as one of my favourite tracks ever

👍
View Author
Wed Jan 04 2023
5

Very good! They are wild and contained at the same time. I am glad I discovered this band.

👍
View Author
Fri Jan 13 2023
5

such a versatile album. i will be looking into their discography. AND they’re a welsh band with a punk-left grunge feel, i fuck w it.

👍
View Author
Fri Mar 03 2023
5

I love how damn tangible and chunky this album is, like a colorful toy from the 1970s that's been cleaned up and made better.

👍
View Author
Mon Mar 06 2023
5

One of, if not the very, finest Welsh bands ever, duking it out with the Manics. Such a great body of work.

👍
View Author
Thu Jan 25 2024
4

Turn of the century British music was an interesting period to say the least. Britpop had imploded under its' own unbearable weight, and the result was a musical landscape in search of meaning. What we got was a lot bands expanding their sphere of curiosity, and 'Rings Around The World' is an output from such a band. One can hardly keep track of all the different genres and sounds, but everything kind of works. Sure, it's not a cohesive album in any way, but the experimentation and songwriting ('It's Not The End Of The World?', 'Shoot Doris Day') are stellar.

👍
View Author
Fri Feb 19 2021
3

I need to listen to this again, there’s a lot going on here, but in a good way. I feel like I hear twenty different acts that influenced this, and also at least twenty other acts that were influenced by this. I’m impressed. It’s getting a 3 today, but I expect that score to increase the more I listen to it

👍
View Author
Mon Feb 22 2021
3

this album is okay some songs sound really good but there’s a lot of elements on here that remind of the beach boys and that’s not bad but I think they could have been more original with this psychedelic sound as this album is made like 40 years after The Beach Boys were active. There’s some songs on here that I don’t enjoy but most of them are good or okay especially the last 4 songs or so I really liked da . 7/10

👍
View Author
Sat Dec 09 2023
3

The lyrics and general vibes are a bit too self-aware and "quirky". I do appreciate the mix of classic rock/pop inspirations with occasional electronica inserts, though.

👍
View Author
Sun Dec 10 2023
3

this album has its moments, some really great stuff, but i think ultimately it is balanced by some less interesting stuff. it's highs are high, but its lows are... boring. and that's ok. but ultimately, not my most favorite listen out there.

👍
View Author
Tue Dec 12 2023
3

Rings around the world? Maybe rings around the bath. This is probably the last hurrah of the britpop era, before the early 2000s curse kicked in. Fortunately, very little of it is actually britpop, which had overstayed its welcome by this point in history. There's great variety in this, and I genuinely like some of the tracks, but I don't think it works as a cohesive album.

👍
View Author
Wed Dec 20 2023
3

I enjoy each individual track and I like the bands sound, but as an album I do agree that it falls short. It just a grab bag of tracks, it lacks a really solid through line.

👍
View Author
Thu Feb 22 2024
3

Sigh, Super Furry Animals... the creative highlight from the Stella'n'shirt'n'sneakers dregs of Britpop; a band packed full of ideas and who know their way around a tune; a band who have no concept of quality control. This album has some great moments (Juxtapozed With U especially), while also characteristically overlong and indulgent. The Spotify version is almost 4 hours long! Who the fuck needs all this "bonus" material? I'll recommend their Best Of here - with apposite warning that is has 37 fucking tracks (90% great)!

👍
View Author
Sat Apr 24 2021
2

I still really don't like this group. Although this album sounds more psychadelic/spacey a la Flaming Lips and is better than Fuzzy Logic, I still find the lead vocalist's singing to be annoying and I could barely make it thru the entire album.

👍
View Author
Fri Nov 26 2021
2

Somewhere in the territory between boring and actively unpleasant most of the time. Genuinely my favourite moment in this record was the second or so of silence between the end of the dire Receptacle for the Respectable and the start of [A] Touch Sensitive.

👍
View Author
Thu Mar 17 2022
2

It's... it's really boring, isn't it? SFA doesn't seem capable of committing to a bit. Consequently, the album slips and slides from one flavor of mediocrity to the next without leaving any lasting impression whatsoever. I can't give it a one-star review because there's not anything actively BAD about it other than it's just not good.

👍
View Author
Wed Feb 07 2024
2

You'd think that mashing up Flaming Lips with Polyphonic Spree, the dude from Ween as the singer, + some rock opera aspirations would be fun to listen to. You would be wrong.

👍
View Author
Fri Oct 21 2022
1

So little for me to enjoy with this one.

👍
View Author
Sat Aug 19 2023
5

Welsh band from around of era, but somehow I have never heard about them. I approached this album being very sceptical, as I always do, and truthfully I didn't find it original, creative or even fun at the beginning. I think the song "Receptacle for the Respectable" completely changed my perception of this album. They tried to fit every possible genre into a song, and somehow they created an absolute banger, which goes to the top of my favourite songs . Only then I noticed how original this album is, with songs all over the place musically, but with a cheeky lyrics on top of it. I had so much fun listening to the whole record, and I still have b-sides and remastered versions to listen to. Amazing stuff, looking forward to deeper dig into the discography in the near future!

👍
View Author
Fri Sep 08 2023
5

A life-defining moment was going on a high school writer's retreat and one of the seniors I looked up to playing the entire dvd that accompanied this album. It was my intro to SFA and the album which would soundtrack my own final high school years. They were a band my freshman roommate and I bonded over. It's an album I can always come back to and be transported to 2003. This is all to say, I can't speak objectively about this album. It's fucking perfect.

👍
View Author
Wed Oct 04 2023
5

What a refreshing surprise. I'm tempted to temper my review a bit because I don't think they are going to be a band I continue to come back to and the sound is a bit dated, but I just really enjoy it. I had never heard of this band before and the blending of styles and variation between there music was excellent. Juxtapozed with U was a great little song, but I loved their instrumental [A] Touch Sensitive and the longer tracks like No Sympathy and Presidential Suite. Great album!

👍
View Author
Wed Nov 08 2023
5

Weird space rock with a DJ. Surprisingly good.

👍
View Author
Tue Nov 21 2023
5

I really got into this. I loved this album, then I listened to a bit of Griff Rhys's latest one, then I went back and enjoyed a bit of Neon Neon. The tongue in cheek lyrics, experimental sounds and laid back guitar were spot on.

👍
View Author
Tue Nov 21 2023
5

This was intended to be an expansive epic and that comes across in the final album. It has cinematic production values and plenty of variety in the musical content. The melodies are catchy, the vocals are bouncy (loads of great harmonies) and the arrangements are dense. They don't take themselves too seriously either. Thoroughly enjoyable pop.

👍
View Author
Wed Nov 29 2023
5

Huge fan of SFA and this is yet another one added to the list. I don't really get the complaints about the style but if it's good, then it's good right? And I like this, a lot.

👍
View Author
Thu Dec 14 2023
5

I loved this so much!! If other albums were 5, this was a 10

👍
View Author
Mon Dec 25 2023
5

had absolutely 0 expectations going into this album. had never heard of Super Furry Animals but it was a great listen. no bad songs and a lot of really good ones. the vibes were all over the place but in a good and purposeful way

👍
View Author
Thu Dec 28 2023
5

Has long been one of my favorites

👍
View Author
Sun Jan 21 2024
5

Really great album. Very ahead of it's time for 2001. The lead singer sounds like Damon Albarn, so it felt like listening to a contemporary Blur album. Great production. Sounds like it was influential in the rock space.

👍
View Author
Thu Jan 25 2024
5

Rings Around The World feels like the missing link between Blur and Gorillaz. It’s the transformation from britpop to whatever you would like to call the schizophrenic mashup of genres that the British scene of the early 00’s experimented with. There’s very little cohesion as Gruff Rhys and the band throws every musical idea towards you - and somehow succeeds to hit the target time and time again. It shouldn’t actually work, but it does. It’s too much, it could almost be misinterpreted as a joke of a band with no musical direction. Somehow Super Furry Animals gets away with it - and it’s sublime.

👍
View Author
Sun Feb 04 2024
5

The most underrated band from the British 90s music scene. Some great songs, taking the best of The Beach Boys, Psychedelic rock and soul. A peach of a record.

👍
View Author
Fri Mar 01 2024
5

Never heard of them but enjoyed this album

👍
View Author
Mon Nov 09 2020
4

Pleasantly enjoyable. Like a fusion between ELO and post-AM Arctic Monkeys.

👍
View Author
Thu Apr 08 2021
4

Pretty cool with some tracks I didn't like

👍
View Author
Mon Feb 22 2021
4

Great songs, production could make more of the lovely voices.

👍
View Author
Fri Apr 09 2021
4

Fedt album. Mange gode harmonier og gode numre. Har en specielt blandingslyd. Desværre lider nogle af numrene lidt for meger af eksperimentering til at give top karakter. Men absolut et godt album. 4 stjerner måske 4.5 efter flere genemlyt

👍
View Author
Thu Mar 11 2021
4

At the height of their powers. Such an enjoyable album! Freaky and wavy and odd, but also just lovely pop rock songs. I have overlooked the lyrics before, but there is some great stuff in there.

👍
View Author
Mon Jul 05 2021
4

This was new to me, and I really enjoyed it. I like when bands can navigate little experiments and moments of genre bending as seamlessly as they do. They really caught my attention at "[A] Touch Sensitive" and perhaps my favorite was "Juxtapozed with U."

👍
View Author
Tue Feb 09 2021
4

This is why I’m doing this project. I’ve never even heard of this group let alone listened. This is wild.

👍
View Author
Wed Mar 17 2021
4

Chill and I liked all the places it went.

👍
View Author
Wed Jan 27 2021
4

I wasn't aware of this one and it turned out to be a very pleasant listen. The mix of songs is very eclectic with each one sounding significantly different than the previous- keeping the listener on their toes. I'll revisit this one for sure.

👍
View Author
Wed Jan 27 2021
4

A wide range of sounds and genre mix-ins, pretty interesting. I had never heard of these guys before. Smooth listening, catchy melodies.

👍
View Author
Wed Jan 27 2021
4

Probably my favorite album so far on this journey. I liked how many different influences you could hear. I had never heard any of these songs before, and that makes me sad. Will be listening to this again. Top 3: Alternate route to Vulcan Street, Receptacle for the Respectable, [A] Touch Sensitive

👍
View Author
Sun May 16 2021
4

Just a whole lot of fun. Beautiful melodies giving way to strange, psychedelic riffing. The vocal timbre of the singer is also pleasant. Really enjoyable!

👍
View Author
Fri Feb 26 2021
4

Surprisingly down to earth, and VERY funny!

👍
View Author
Fri Feb 12 2021
4

Kinda weird, but I liked it.

👍
View Author
Sat May 29 2021
4

Just my kind of vibe. Gives me very big Moody Blues energy with a modern twist. I wanna dive deeper into these guys.

👍
View Author
Tue Mar 23 2021
4

Brilliantly Beatlesque in places, electronically wacky in others. Eclectic!

👍
View Author
Mon Mar 29 2021
4

really enjoyable! first time listening to supper furry animals.

👍
View Author
Wed May 19 2021
4

RATW introduced SFA to a wider audience with more of a polished sound that didn’t take away from their previous eccentricities. Great singles including Juxtaposed & End Of The World while the country tinged Run Christian Run was a mellow direction for them. Their run of albums including RATW is sublime, sensational band. SFA OK!

👍
View Author
Mon Apr 19 2021
4

I really liked this album. I had heard Juxtaposed With U, but not really too familiar with the Super Furries apart from that. It was definitely up my street. Gorgeous and mellow, with lots of interesting instruments.

👍
View Author
Thu Jun 17 2021
4

This is a new artist and new music for me. Some of the tracks remind me of things that I listen to. "No Sympathy" starts off sounding like a something from Phish in the mid-nineties, finishing with a twist ending (not so much like Phish). "Juxtapozed with U" reminded me of some of the music from Damon Albarn and the Gorillaz. "Alternate Route to Vulcan Street" was a good way to start the album. We'll call that track my "favorite" for the album. The album was interesting enough that I'd probably listen again. (3.5 stars)

👍
View Author
Wed Apr 21 2021
4

Pleasantly surprised by this one! Very 2001 in its deployment of techno-city. Got a lot of late stage Elvis Costello in this. And more than anything, really loved Shoot Doris Day. I may start listening to this band!

👍
View Author
Sun Jun 13 2021
4

Good background rock music, would listen again

👍
View Author
Sun Jun 13 2021
4

Pretty varied album, good work background music.

👍
View Author
Fri May 07 2021
4

I hear some Manic Street Preachers in their sound. Maybe Oasis too. 70s AOR. Mr. Bungle. Turns out they are from Wales. Will be checking out more of their material.

👍
View Author
Sun May 09 2021
4

Some great songs. Goes to places I didn't expect. Benefits from multiple listens.

👍
View Author
Sun May 16 2021
4

Really enjoyed this, but felt it fell off a bit towards the end.

👍
View Author
Fri May 21 2021
4

ONE OF THOSE GREAT 90s EXPERIMENTAL ROCK ALBUMS THAT EXTOLLED THE VIRTUES OF FREEDOM.

👍
View Author
Sun Jul 18 2021
4

Way more exciting than I thought Super Furry Animals were, loved the breakdowns and different styles in the songs.

👍
View Author
Sun Jun 27 2021
4

-Really love how the tempo of the drums in the first three songs slowly increased -Obvious Beatles influence -Sings very much like the guy from Blur and Radiohead -Really interesting and new seems to challenge the boundaries of music with panning and dominant drums and bass, recommend to sam -Really like how it has such a wide assortment of musical styles on it yet you still manage to feel that it is all part of the same album because of the constant drums.

👍
View Author
Thu Jul 29 2021
4

Wow, i wasnt expecting this at all. I kept my hand in my chest all time. A great record

👍
View Author
Fri Aug 06 2021
4

Glad I got to hear this band that I didn't knew existed. They reminded me of blur, so it was cool.

👍
View Author
Wed Sep 15 2021
4

Another tough one. I wasn't familiar with and really liked it, so definitely 3.5. As I sit here the next day, I DO actually want to listen to it again, so it's getting a 4. An interesting sound overall, I'm not even quite sure how to describe it. Indie rock I guess, but it doesn't have that worn out generic indie rock sound? It had a touch of weirdness to it. I dunno, pretty good though.

👍
View Author
Sun Sep 19 2021
4

Overall a good album. Very eclectic. I didn’t like it all but I did like most of it. I could listen again.

👍
View Author
Mon Sep 20 2021
4

Bit weird sounding at first, with ProgRock/Psycholedia/Instrumental parts mixed with some slow ballad-type songs but if one embraces the weirdness it ends up being quite a nice ride

👍
View Author
Thu Oct 07 2021
4

I like it! Similar vibes to early OK go and Flaming Lips

👍
View Author
Sun Oct 17 2021
4

Really solid album with very cool instrumentals and themes. Lots of fun and catchy songs

👍
Load more reviews