Show Your Hand

Infobox Single
Name = Show Your Hand


Artist = Super Furry Animals
from Album = Hey Venus!
Released = 16 July, 2007 (Download only)
13 August, 2007
Format = Digipack CD, 7" picture disc, download
Recorded = Miraval Studios, France
Genre = Indie rock
Length = 2:51
Label = Rough Trade Records
Writer = Super Furry Animals
Producer = Super Furry Animals with David Newfeld
[ Certification = ]
Chart position = * #46 (UK)
Last single = "Lazer Beam"
(2005)
This single = "Show Your Hand"
(2007)
Next single = "Run-Away""
(2007)

"Show Your Hand" is a song by Welsh rock band Super Furry Animals and was the first single from their 2007 album, "Hey Venus!". The single was made available for download on 16 July, 2007 as an iTunes exclusive and was later released in physical formats on 13 August in the UK.cite web|last=|first=|title=Super Furry Animals star reveals full details of band's comeback|work=NME|date=2007-05-26|url=http://www.nme.com/news/nme/28548|accessdate=2008-07-07] The track failed to penetrate the UK singles chart's Top 40, peaking at #46.cite web|last=|first=|title=Super Furry Animals score highest new entry on UK album chart|work=NME|date=2007-07-30|url=http://www.nme.com/news/super-furry-animals/30835|accessdate=2008-07-09] cite web|last=|first=|title=Super Furry Animals - Show Your Hand|work=aCharts|date=2008-07-31|url=http://acharts.us/song/27321|accessdate=2008-07-31]

According to lead singer Gruff Rhys the track is "a song about gambling" and was originally going to be left off "Hey Venus!" for being "too generic" before Rough Trade boss Geoff Travis persuaded the band to reconsider their decision.cite web|last=Hogan|first=Marc|title=Interview: Super Furry Animals|work=Pitchfork Media|date=2007-08-27|url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/44804-interview-super-furry-animals|accessdate=2008-07-04] Critical reaction to the track was mixed with some reviewers claiming "Show Your Hand" was "ponderously mature" and "more like the generic pop songs one would find on the radio" while others hailed the track as "classic Furries".cite web|last=Southall|first=Nick|title=Super Furry Animals - Hey Venus!|work=Stylus Magazine|date=2007-08-24|url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/super-furry-animals/hey-venus.htm|accessdate=2008-07-04] cite web|last=Wu|first=Baishi|title=Super Furry Animals|work=The Chronicle|date=2008-01-24|url=http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2008/01/24/Recess/Super.Furry.Animals-3166605.shtml|accessdate=2008-07-03] cite web|last=Goodden|first=Joe|title=Show Your Hand|work=BBC Wales|date=2007|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/music/sites/superfurryanimals/pages/show_your_hand.shtml|accessdate=2008-07-04]

Unlike the two other singles taken from "Hey Venus!", "Run-Away" and "The Gift That Keeps Giving", no music video was produced for "Show Your Hand".cite web|last=|first=|title=Albums, Hey Venus!|work=Super Furry Animals official website, discography page|date=2007?|url=http://www.superfurry.com/view.php?album=RTRADCD346&lang=en|accessdate=2008-07-04]

Origins and recording

In an interview with Pitchfork given before the release of "Hey Venus!", singer Gruff Rhys claimed "Show Your Hand" was "a song about gambling. There's lots of card-playing going on in the Super Furry Animals [tour bus] , which may have [had] a slight influence on the subject matter". Rhys went on to state that the song was initially left off "Hey Venus!" for being "too generic":

A combination of pressure from Rough Trade's Geoff Travis and Jeannette Lee ("Where's that song gone? That's our favorite song!") and the addition of a French horn part, written by Cian Ciaran, resulted in the song finally taking its place on the record.

Although the majority of the track was recorded at Miraval Studios, France along with the rest of "Hey Venus!",cite album-notes |title=Hey Venus! |albumlink=Hey Venus! |bandname=Super Furry Animals |year=2007 |notestitle= |url= |first= |last= |pages= [p.6] |format=CD booklet |publisher=Rough Trade Records|publisherid= |location=London |mbid=35ce5c2b-ab43-4f5a-885a-7b91b1c004bf] additional recording also took place with Chris Shaw who mixed the album.

According to Cian Ciaran both b-sides to "Show Your Hand", namely "Aluminium Illuminati" and "Never More", were originally recorded during sessions for 2003's "Phantom Power".cite web|last=Jeganathan|first=Robin|title=Hey Cian!|work=Komakino|date=2007?|url=http://www.komakinomag.de/index.php?text:lang:super_furry_animals|accessdate=2008-07-04]

Musical structure

Listen
filename=Super_Furry_Animals_-_Show_Your_Hand.ogg‎
title=Super Furry Animals "Show Your Hand" (2007)
description=Short sample from "Show Your Hand" illustrating the track's key change chorus which takes place before the outro.
format=Ogg

"Show Your Hand" is 2 minutes 51 seconds long and is in the key of E minor.cite web|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|title=Hey Venus!|work=Allmusic|date=2007?|url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:knfixz95ldfe|accessdate=2008-07-06] The song begins with a "Kevin Ayers-style psych-pop intro";cite web|last=Paphides|first=Pete|title=Super Furry Animals: Hey Venus!|work=The Times|date=2007-08-24|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/cd_reviews/article2315111.ece|accessdate=2008-07-06] "a Beatlesque harpsichord line" accompanied by intermittent bass and occasional strummed guitar chords with Rhys singing the lines "You're perched so neatly on the fence, you're keeping your cards all to yourself..." as the songs builds to its first chorus on 30 seconds.cite web|last=Hall|first=Andrew|title=To review: The ear weighs in on recent releases|work=Whitman College Pioneer|date=2007-08-04|url=http://whitmanpioneer.com/ear/2007/10/04/to-review-the-ear-weighs-in-on-recent-releases-2/|accessdate=2008-07-06]

"Emphatic power chords" takes the song into the "rarefied soft-rock territory" of the chorus with Rhys singing the title phrase four times before being joined by "sugar-sweet harmonies from the Brian Wilson School of Spine-Tingling Pop" on the last lines: "I'm jumping off the fence, into your corner". Another verse and chorus follow before the song's middle 8 at 1 minute 31 seconds, a multi-layered vocal take on a regular verse featuring just 'bah, bah, bahs' in place of lyrics.

The song ends with a triple chorus (the third of which features a key change to A major) as "French horn counterpoints usher the song towards its climax",cite web|last=Gill|first=Andy|title=Hey Venus! (Rough Trade)|work=The Independent|date=2007-08-24|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-super-furry-animals-462714.html|accessdate=2008-07-04] the line "jumping off the fence" repeating three times before a staccato finish with Rhys singing "into your corner", drawing out the last word.

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")cite web|last=Thompson|first=Nick|title=Super Furry Animals - Show Your Hand (Rough Trade)|work=Manchester Evening News|date=2007-08-13|url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/entertainment/music/single_reviews/s/1013/1013419_super_furry_animals__show_your_hand_rough_trade.html|accessdate=2008-07-04] 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 [that] of a historically experimental band".cite web|last=Hepburn|first=Peter|title=Super Furry Animals :: "Show Your Hand"|work=Cokemachineglow|date=2007-07-10|url=http://www.cokemachineglow.com/track_review/3000/super-furry-animals|accessdate=2008-07-06] However, "The Guardian" stated that "Show Your Hand" "is the sort of music [the Super Furry Animals] do best - hazy, lazy sunshine pop".cite web|last=Rodgers|first=Jude|title=Worth the detour (Hey Venus! track-by-track review)|work=The Guardian|date=2007-08-24|url=http://music.guardian.co.uk/reviews/story/0,,2155675,00.html|accessdate=2008-07-04] 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",cite web|last=Gill|first=Andy|title=Hey Venus! (Rough Trade)|work=The Independent|date=2007-08-24|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-super-furry-animals-462714.html|accessdate=2008-07-04] Pitchfork calling the song "Zombies-esque orchestral pop",cite web|last=Hogan|first=Marc|title=Hey Venus!|work=Pitchfork Media|date=2007-08-13|url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/45292-hey-venus|accessdate=2008-07-06] and Drowned in Sound describing "Show Your Hand" as "an almost Bacharachian gem":cite web|last=Wale|first=Dan|title=Super Furry Animals: Show Your Hand|work=Drowned in Sound|date=2007-08-13|url=http://www.drownedinsound.com/release/view/11150|accessdate=2008-07-04]

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:

Track listing

All songs by Super Furry Animals.
*CD (RTRADSCD402)
*# "Show Your Hand" – 2:51
*# "Aluminium Illuminati" – 2:37
*# "Never More" – 2:25

*7" (RTRADS402)
*# "Show Your Hand" – 2:51
*# "Never More" – 2:25

Credits

*Gruff Rhys: Vocals
*Huw Bunford: Guitar
*Guto Pryce: Bass guitar
*Cian Ciaran: Keyboards
*Dafydd Ieuan: Drums
*Kris Jenkins: Percussion
*Gary Alesbrook: Trumpet
*Nick Atwood: Trombone
*Martin Owen: French Horn
*Phil Woods: French Horn
*Kathryn Saunders: French Horn
*Brian Wright: Violin
*Charles Nolan: Violin
*Rick Koster: Violin
*Laura Melhuish: Violin
*Amanda Britton: Violin
*Sally Herbert: Violin
*Marcus Holloway: Cello
*Ian Burdge: Cello

ingles chart positions

References

External links

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