Supergrass
Road To Rouen

Britpop's survivors have become the movement's Woody Allen - people prefer the earlier, funnier stuff. This introspective sixth album is bookended by 'Tales of Endurance (Parts 4,5 & 6)' with its folkie guitar echoes of Zeppelin, and 'Fin' which bears an even closer resemblance to their 'Going to California'. Elsewhere we're given hints of the Band on new single 'St Petersburg', Walrusy Lennon on 'Sad Girl', lots of strings and some Southern boogie. What they're short on throughout is instant hooks. On '... Endurance', Gaz muses, 'We welcome commercial suicide.' This isn't quite that, but it's more The Curse of the Jade Scorpion than Annie Hall.
3/5

Campbell Stevenson, Observer Music Monthly - 17 July 2005