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The Press Article
MONKEY NUTS
MARKING A DECADE OF SIMIAN SILLINESS AND SMART TUNES
Supergrass
Supergrass Is 10
PARLOPHONE
Ten years after the event, it's fair to say that the Britpop fallout was relatively kind to Supergrass. Not for them the breakdowns (Menswear), heroin-addled bed-ins (Elastica) and cocaine pomp (Oasis) suffered by their peers. Just a sense that, had their image not been frozen as a wheelie-popping Hair Bear Bunch from that video for Alright, the record-buying public may have been a little keener of late, particularly when faced with 2003's Life On Other Planets.
Externally, however, everything has appeared, well, alright, despite the less frequent ring of cash registers. But this has been Supergrass' raison d'etre from day one: Gaz Coombes and co have always made a fair go of trading in classic rock hooks with a relentlessly sunny disposition, regardless of what might lie beneath. Even an autobiographical run-in with the law (Caught By The Fuzz) was delivered with a knowing smirk. It's of little wonder that Steven Spielberg once apparently considered turning them into a latter-day version of The Monkees.
Unsurprisingly, then, nearly half the tracks here are cut from their debut, I Should Coco, and another five from 1997's In It For The Money. It's an emphasis that allows Supergrass to play to their strengths: all knockabout rock on Sun Hits The Sky, no-brainer Buzzcocks thrash on Mansize Rooster and Alright's cheery wave to the student disco dancefloor.
There are moments of sobriety, too. Late In The Day and Moving are swooning anthems of reflection, while Going Out swings a playful jab at drummer Danny Goffey's Met Bar excursions ("Read it in the papers, tell me what it's all about"). But given that Supergrass Is 10 is ostensibly a celebration, these lulls are few and far between. The inclusion of two new, typically uptempo songs - one of which, Kiss Of Life, wheels in a 1970s cop show funk groove - makes for a pleasing footnote.
It also suggests that, despite the party's end being near, there may be time for another drink or three after all.
4/5
Matt Allen, Q - July 2004
MARKING A DECADE OF SIMIAN SILLINESS AND SMART TUNES
Supergrass
Supergrass Is 10
PARLOPHONE
Ten years after the event, it's fair to say that the Britpop fallout was relatively kind to Supergrass. Not for them the breakdowns (Menswear), heroin-addled bed-ins (Elastica) and cocaine pomp (Oasis) suffered by their peers. Just a sense that, had their image not been frozen as a wheelie-popping Hair Bear Bunch from that video for Alright, the record-buying public may have been a little keener of late, particularly when faced with 2003's Life On Other Planets.
Externally, however, everything has appeared, well, alright, despite the less frequent ring of cash registers. But this has been Supergrass' raison d'etre from day one: Gaz Coombes and co have always made a fair go of trading in classic rock hooks with a relentlessly sunny disposition, regardless of what might lie beneath. Even an autobiographical run-in with the law (Caught By The Fuzz) was delivered with a knowing smirk. It's of little wonder that Steven Spielberg once apparently considered turning them into a latter-day version of The Monkees.
Unsurprisingly, then, nearly half the tracks here are cut from their debut, I Should Coco, and another five from 1997's In It For The Money. It's an emphasis that allows Supergrass to play to their strengths: all knockabout rock on Sun Hits The Sky, no-brainer Buzzcocks thrash on Mansize Rooster and Alright's cheery wave to the student disco dancefloor.
There are moments of sobriety, too. Late In The Day and Moving are swooning anthems of reflection, while Going Out swings a playful jab at drummer Danny Goffey's Met Bar excursions ("Read it in the papers, tell me what it's all about"). But given that Supergrass Is 10 is ostensibly a celebration, these lulls are few and far between. The inclusion of two new, typically uptempo songs - one of which, Kiss Of Life, wheels in a 1970s cop show funk groove - makes for a pleasing footnote.
It also suggests that, despite the party's end being near, there may be time for another drink or three after all.
4/5
Matt Allen, Q - July 2004