When Britpoppers Supergrass released their debut album I Should Coco in 1995, they garnered success as exuberant pop-rockers, more concerned with catchy melodies and grooves than deep lyrics and sophisticated songwriting. Back then, lead singer Gaz Coombes would proclaim off-the-cuff pub proverbs like, “We are young, we’ve gone green / We’ve got teeth nice and clean / See out friends, see the sights, feel alright!” Coombes was just 19 when Coco was released, and Supergrass was a brash, upbeat and undeniably fun alternative to the pompous soap opera that constituted most of ’90s Britpop.
Eight years and three albums later, Supergrass has grown up a bit, but not that much. Lest they get too serious, their latest effort Life on Other Planets is an album chalk full of rollicking numbers to accompany getting pissed at the local pub. There are hooks and riffs galore, but the band’s done that before. By now, the band should strive for a more mature approach.
Not to say that their tried-and-true formula totally fails. The opening track, “Za” sets a perfect tone. After an intro featuring the band’s trademark pumping pianos, Coombes squawks, “Such a beautiful face / But time waits for no one / So why don’t we get it on.” The quartet spends the next 41 minutes getting it on through their strange brew of keyboards, guitars and sing-along choruses.
Those choruses have become a Supergrass standard. The first single, “Grace” may be one of the catchiest ditties the band has written, and L.O.O.P has plenty of triumphant moments. “Never Done Nothing Like That Before” does not even hit the two-minute mark, but has enough energy in its brief span to compensate it twice-over. “Seen the Light” features Coombes doing a dead-on Elvis impersonation in its chorus, singing triumphantly, “I’m a rock ‘n’ roll singer in a rock ‘n’ roll band,” followed by birds chirping and a sheep bleating.
Sometimes, though, it appears that Supergrass is having a little too much fun. The band (Coombes, Danny Goffey on drums, Mick Quinn on bass, and Coombes’ older brother Rob on keyboards) has shrugged off the pretension of rock stardom. Such ambivalence is refreshing when surrounded by the egoism of some of their arrogant contemporaries. But unfortunately, it also seems to have killed the group’s ambition.
L.O.O.P sounds too much like Supergrass covering themselves and it comes too easily. The group spent two months in France last year generating material for the album, but even with the change of scenery the best they could come up with was just more of the same. The band seems content to crank out another fun-filled package of catchy tunes every couple years, presumably in an effort to appease their established fan base. But, unless the band starts taking some risks in the future, they may find even their most dedicated fans jumping ship. nyou
