Supergrass 'Supergrass Is 10'

Has it really been ten years? Have they really been around that long? Did we really let a whole decade of Supergrass singles slip through our clammy hands with nary the occasional whoop as yet another casually bounded into the Top Ten like an over-enthusiastic puppy? It would appear so.

The first thing that strikes you (after the slight bemusement when you realise that their still irresistible debut single ‘Caught By The Fuzz’ came out in 1994) is how spoilt we’ve been with the singles offering from these boys. ‘Pumping On Your Stereo’ humps and shimmies like a lost baby-faced Bolan classic, ‘Richard III’, ‘Mansize Rooster’ and ‘Lenny’ are as dirty as ever while ‘Sun Hits The Sky’ still sounds like a transit van full of pilled-up pre-teens gate-crashing the Glastonbury fence. Even ‘Alright’ has matured well, transcending its mid ‘90s omnipresence to become a ‘Teenage Kicks’ for next millennium.

Proof that their reputation as the lucky clowns that side stepped the Britpop cull with a casually tossed out chorus (one fortified by the eye popping goonery that infuses their videos) is nicely addressed with the effortless ‘Moving’, the rolling stoner blues ‘Time’ the black swampadelic thrump of ‘Mary’, the balls-out wheezing organ and joyous brass of the Small Faces-esque ‘Going Out’ and ‘Wait For The Sun’'s hash pipe sweet acoustic Led Zep rambling.

Always a group more experimental than their reputation (or themselves) ever proclaim, the two new tracks show a band still (ahem) moving. ‘Bullet’ finds them stripping down to disturbing dark stoner rock riffage and the brilliant ‘Kiss Of Life’ comes on like ‘Scary Monsters’-era Bowie, Donna Summer’s ‘I Feel Love’ and someone swinging a mewling cat round a percussion shop.

So present have Supergrass been in our musical backdrop for so long that we often take them for granted, happy to acknowledge a frankly astonishingly long run of well crafted, memorable singles with a scant nod. Their easy-going demeanour will do little to change that - but one listen to these 21 songs will reinforce their position as one of our greatest bands (albeit one who make it all sound so easy). A stunning compilation.

Matt Everitt, xfm - June 2004