I Should Coco
Supergrass

Another sterling recommendation from the drooling British rock press warrants caution, but in the case of Supergrass, the superlatives are holding up in fickle Yankeeland. Though still green and in need of a singular vision to unify its patchwork pop, Supergrass is a cut above such similarly touted U.K. sensations as Blur and Suede. Oxford's glam-pop trio puts a Buzzcocks kick and Madness glee into the tightly choreographed pop pirouettes on debut album I SHOULD COCO (Cockney lingo for "I should think so"). Moments of snappy bubblepunk recall the credible side of the Monkees, yet these fisky lads more often stomp in Who and Bowie territory, careening from the arresting rock racket of "Caught By The Fuzz" to the six-minute ambient puppy-love croon "Sofa (Of My Lethargy)." The starting pattern of euphoric harmonies, frenetic drums and compact guitar bursts never gets stale, thanks to such vibrant alterations as the Hammond organ swirls on "I'd Like To Know" or falsetto cries on "Mansize Rooster."
4/5

Edna Gunderson, Microsoft Music Central 97