March 17 sees the release of Stainless Style, the album by Super Furry Animals' Gruff Rhys and Boom Bip (and friends), under the name of Neon Neon.Stainless Style is a concept album, inspired by the life and times of John De Lorean, entrepeneur, engineer, playboy - but don't let this put you off. In 12 tracks, Mr Rhys and Mr Bip cover the span of De Lorean's life, as well as dipping their toes into every musical genre out there, whilst conveying the best of the 80s. But.... does the album work? Well... mostly.Writing about the 80s and cars and girls could lead to a horrible chauvinistic outcome, and thankfully this is (mostly) avoided... It sums up the life of De Lorean, although in some places, the car cliches feel a little shoehorned in. The album captures the excesses of the 80s, without sounding too dated or naff, and brings the sound up to date, with Rhys' clever songwriting. In places it is is so reminiscent of the 80s that you want to dig out a suit jacket and roll up the sleeves, or dig out your legwarmers. Despite crossing so many different genres - the press release for the album cites pop, rock, hip-hop, italo-disco - the album flows well, and is well worth a listen... So hop in your De Lorean, wind down the windows and crank up Stainless Style!TRACK BY TRACKNeon Theme sets the tone of the album, a slice of electronica, reminiscent of the best of New Order.Dream Cars, with The Strokes' Fabrizio Moretti on drums, is synth heavy, sing-along pop, focussing on the most famous aspects of DeLoreans life - cars and girls, and the shallowness of celebrity. I told her on Alderaan continues the synth-pop, sounding Euro-disco-esque, with added guitar.Racquel, about Racquel Welch, is perfect 80s club music, that kinda sticks in your head.......until Trick for Treat, featuring Spank Rock and Har Mar Superstar, cranks up the tempo, with dirty sounding synths and falsetto chorus....Steel Your Girl sees the synths take a back seat, for a very summery sounding pure guitar pop track. On first listen, the track sounds like it could be from a different album altogether. Gruff Rhys' songwriting comes into the fore here, making a song about the brevity of relationships sound so... happy.I lust you featuring Cate Le Bon on co-vocals will be the next single taken from the album, and is a very slick track.Sweat shop featuring Yo Majesty and Har Mar Superstar is a dirty track, with a very industrial, oppressive sound, as a reminder that depite De Lorean being the celebrity and playboy, his wealth was founded on car production and manufacturing. Belfast, referring to the De Lorean manfacturing plant in Northern Ireland, see the return of the 80s synth, Rhys' vocal jarring with the happy and upbeat backing track, as his sings of "Belfast... you were my Vietnam" and "I built my empire and threw it all away..." Michael Douglas, a peon to 80s consumerism, materialism and idealism, which - forget the music, the lyrics - can simply be summed up with the chorus of "Michael Douglas's mirrored sunglasses". The track itself is built around driving beats and eerie synths, and tries to sound futuristic - or an 80s vision of the future.Luxury Pool is a track with Fatlip rapping De Loreans life, from birth to his eventual conversion to his baptism as a born again Christian, talking of his strengths and this weaknesses - "If you ride with me, I'll make you famous"Stainless Style is the closing track to the album and the life of De Lorean; it would a perfect chill out track to watch the sun rise to. With no beats, just Rhys' voice over church-like synth, and The Magic Numbers as backing choir, it's a sad goodbye.