Supergrass
Supergrass
(Island)

Supergrass' goofy debut (1995's I Should Coco) was punch-drunk post-punk that snapped and popped like a boxer's speed bag. With 1997's In It For The Money, the trio sobered up. Its giddy, innocent use of a trashy, not-to-be-take-seriously '70s-rock inheritance (Slade, Sweet) turned a little "serious." And that's even more true on its self titled new disc-which is too bad, because there are shreds of real grandeur here.
Unfortunately, you could assemble a pretty good album from the pieces that are missing from Supegrass: The rowdy, two chord wonder "Pumping on Your Stereo" snarls and rocks like an updated "Rebel Rebel," but for all its potential as a cool single, the track feels like a great chorus in search of some decent verses. That makes the raucous studio applause at the end of the song seem, well, kind of snug and unearned. Likewise, "Moving" is a queasy epic production number, full of strummy guitars that lead into a platform-shoes-and-big-collar glam-rock chorus. Like most of this disc, it's a fascinating exercise, for sure, but there's a base-level pointlessness that leaves you motion sick(or maybe just in need of a good cover of Sweet's "Love Is Like Oxygen"). It's also telling that this too often too silly band's sound is so reminiscent of the often too serious Billy Corgan: Like the Smashing Pumpkins at its worst, Supegrass is a conscious attempt at greatness that sadly rarely rises above merely being okay.
Grade: C

Jeff Osbourne, Details (US Magazine) - April 2000