Of all the bands to emerge from Britain's booming indie scene in the mid-1990s, few can claim to be as enduring - or as consistently interesting - as Super Furry Animals. From their 1996 debut, Fuzzy Logic, through to 2005's psychedelic Love Kraft, the prolific Cardiff five-piece have been just about the most dependably brilliant act around.

And there's little evidence this state of affairs is in danger of changing on the band's eighth studio album, which sees Gruff Rhys and Co on typically fine form.

Sounding more similar to the band's earlier work than their gently experimental recent efforts, Hey Venus! is a concept album of sorts. The songs ostensibly follow the adventures of the eponymous young woman as she moves from a small town to the big city, but in the main this merely provides a loose framework on which the band hang a typically melodic set of tracks.

As ever, it's impossible not to reach for Beach Boys comparisons, and Brian Wilson's influence is in evidence from the outset. Run-Away kicks off a mellifluous early trio completed by the jangling arrangements of lead single Show Your Hand and The Gift That Keeps Giving, with its richly layered chorus.

Things liven up considerably on Neo Consumer, which could have been nicked from Britpop-era Blur, and the fizzing Baby Ate My Eightball is a lively reminder of the kind of tunes Super Furry Animals built their reputation on. Suckers, meanwhile, is a perfectly wrought ode to inner-city isolation, and the album's highlight.

The remainder is rounded out with a collection of bittersweet ballads that are raised above the average by the band's quixotic style and Rhys' distinctive vocals.