Das Koolies – Pando review

Loosely translated, Responde a La Pregunta – one of the song titles on Pando – comes out as “Answer the question”. The response obviously depends on what that thing is, but if for instance the enquiry was ‘What are the other four members of the Super Furry Animals doing now?’ then you could say that their second album as Das Koolies is a response, but that in no way tells the whole story.

The veteran quartet of Huw Bunford, Cian Ciarán, Dafydd Ieuan and Guto Pryce released their debut DK.01 in 2023, it’s destination somewhere on the outer rim of electronica served up with a dash of SFA’s alien but ear friendly sonics. A grand reimagining of the possible, it was one of the year’s finest albums.

It’s follow up continues to gleefully defy expectations, with the less than serious backdrop to Som Bom Magnífico being health kicks involving wine for breakfast, but the cinematic atmospheres of Umschalter and Undegun are contrastingly immersive. It’s not all cerebral mindfood however, with bangers like Spider City and Someone Call An Ambulance providing a taste of psychedelic goodness, while Ogov Gôkh delivers some educatin’ and dance floor liberation. Answer the question. What’s the question? The answer is Pando.

You can read a full review here.