Emmanuel Elone: It would be really easy to hate this song. Super Furry Animals lays on the “bing bong” line heavily across all five minutes of “BingBong’s” runtime, and there are moments in the beginning that feel obnoxious and frustrating as a result. However, once you look past the lack of lyrical ideas and the fairly excessive runtime, “BingBong” is actually pretty great. The beat is steady, and has a fantastic bass line at its core, while the simple lyrics float over the rhythm as another instrument of sorts. When “BingBong” is not being occasionally annoying, it’s fun, catchy and energetic, making it a great hit for the summer. [7/10]
Chris Ingalls: Welsh missing-in-action psychedelic outfit Super Furry Animals release their first new piece of music in years, and it’s apparently sung in their native Welsh. Hard to tell, really, since the vocals are wrapped up in a barrage of effects. It’s a serviceable, stomping dance tune and the spacey keyboards provide a nice, giddy high, but I got my fill about halfway through the song and was struggling to make my way through the rest of it. Initially fun but ultimately tiresome. [5/10]
Pryor Stroud: “BingBong” is an absurdist rainbow-pop flight of fancy that makes no attempt to put together a coherent narrative, or even a coherent thought. It’s bouncy, child-like, and pretty thoroughly harmless, but it’s precisely this harmlessness — repeatedly hammered into your brain throughout the track — that makes “BingBong” seem more like a cloying charade than an endearing piece of bubblegum pop. [4/10]
Jordan Blum: I’ve been a big fan of this group for years, so I’m very excited to learn that there’s new music from them. That said, I wasn’t really keen on their last record, and if this track is any indication, I won’t really dig the new one, either. It still feels quintessentially SFA (they’re to pop music what Gorillaz is to hip-hop), but there isn’t much substance here in terms of songwriting or variety (although the changes during the latter half are interesting). The repetition is annoying, to be honest, and it feels too close to “Inaugural Trams”. I prefer the warmer, more lush production and melodies of their holy trilogy, Rings Around the World, Phantom Power, and Love Kraft. [7/10]
Chad Miller: The shapeshifting intro is pretty cool.The song doesn’t seem to ever surpass that moment though, mostly just sounding like more of the same once the original melody is set. [6/10]
SCORE: 5.80