Though Super Furry Animals have always had a dedicated cult following, their wonderfully idiosyncratic, consistently inventive, and endlessly catchy neo-psychedelic rock has unjustly passed beneath the radar of mainstream US recognition. SONGBOOK provides occasion to reevaluate the Super Furries as one of the best bands to emerge from the UK in the 1990s. The collection presents highlights from the Welsh quintet's first six studio albums, offering a kaleidoscopic 21-song sampler of their gear-shifting aesthetic.

Though the Beatles' heady, late-'60s pop is a frequent touchstone, the Super Furries purvey a multidirectional style that is defiantly unique, sounding alternately like laptop experimentalists ("Slow Life"), Marvin Gayes of the robot age ("Juxtaposed With U"), and caballeros who suddenly found themselves playing a lounge in Havana ("Northern Lites"). Unabashed Britpop is a key ingredient, as heard on the nervy and expansive melodies of "Something 4 the Weekend" and the sleepy, chiming "Hello Sunshine." Super Furry Animals rock ("God! Show Me Magic"), go New Wave in Welsh ("Ysbeidiau Heulog"), and simply write memorable tunes ("[Drawing] Rings Around the World"), but what remains consistent is their refreshingly eclectic sensibility, their strong sense of melody, and their busy, always ear-pleasing sonic bluster.