[This is a dedication to my sister, the queen of Brit-pop, who liked the genre so much that she up and moved to London]

Brit-pop is very specific. It’s a kind of pop music that usually only finds an audience in the United States via the college radio circuit. Some of the hundreds of bands that qualify as Brit pop include: James, Oasis, Blur, Pulp, Ash, Mansun, Suede, Travis, Stereophonics, The Verve, Radiohead, and the subject of my opinion Supergrass. The genre is characterized by a quirky sense of humor mixed with an air of snobbishness. These bands also tend to take themselves too seriously on occasion. They are pale, whine a lot, and incorporate electronica elements into their otherwise straight pop tunes. Now that we’re clear about what Brit-pop is, it’s time to talk about the self-titled Supergrass album.

The world got their first taste of Supergrass in the mid-1990’s thanks to the release of the infectious semi-autobiographical track ”Caught By The Fuzz” and the subsequent ”Mansize Rooster” and ”Lenny”. The three songs proceeded the release of 1995’s debut album I Should Coco. British fans quickly fell in love with the band’s sound, especially thanks to the track ”Alright”. ”Alright” was my first introduction to the trio consisting of: guitarist/vocalist Gaz Coombes, bassist Mickey Quinn, and drummer Danny Goffey.

Supergrass released a followup LP entitled In It For The Money in 1997. That album got a significant amount of support thanks to a loyal genre-specific fan base. Although, they still haven’t been met with the fame in the United States that they are accustomed to in Britain.

Today, Supergrass still remains largely unknown stateside. Their most recent self titled US release (2000’s Supergrass) was met with brief MTV success thanks to the humorous ”Pumping On Your Stereo”. Here, I’m going to take a in-depth look at this album and tell those unaware of the genre and the band about the songs and the sound.

”Moving” begins the album off on a pleasant note. The background music incorporates acoustic guitars and classical stringed instruments. Gaz’s voice is exquisite in that he actually can sing wonderfully. The song is slow in the beginning, but as with much Brit-pop, the song picks up tempo about in the middle of the track. The faster sound is reminiscent a bit of the Rolling Stones. But, alas, the rock sound doesn’t stick…it somehow morphs into disco music. This is an interesting track, although sometimes it confuses me. It’s so jumbled and verse-to-verse sounds so different that I find myself wandering away. Although, it’s a pretty good track as a whole. Check it out, especially if you like this kind of music.

Groovy beats mixed with odd instrumentation mark the second song ”Your Love”. Again, it seems reminiscent of the Stones, although, it’s also important to note that the genre and Supergrass are strongly influenced by elder bands like the Buzzcocks. My favorite part of this song is that there is a strong classic rock sound to it, especially at the chorus.

”What Went Wrong (in Your Head)” is much lower and much more intense than some of the other tracks here. I personally feel it’s more interesting and has better technical elements than some of the band’s more popular tracks. It’s a mid-tempo track characterized by a choir of singers backing Gaz. As with many other songs, it’s just full of tons of influences and pulls from many other genres. All-in-all, this is a good song.

Marilyn Manson sung a song called Beautiful People. Well, so did Supergrass. Although, this version is decidedly quirky. It’s not in the least bit offensive, just kind of boring to be quite honest. There doesn’t seem to be much to this song, and simple in this case doesn’t end up being better. ”Shotover Hill” is also on the moderately quirky side. It seems to blend traditional Celtic music with pop. The resulting sound is round and whole and completely mesmerizing. This is one of the best tracks by far on the album.

Old-fashioned sounding stringed instrument mark the beginning of ”Eon”. I like the guitars here, but not the organ. Yup, you heard me right, this song features an organ mixed with electric guitars pretty prominently. There are some interesting elements here. The song actually slows down rather than picks up as it progresses. I’m quite honestly a bit ambivalent when it comes to this tune.

”Mary” is a bluesy rock song at heart. It’s got soft drums and electric guitars. Despite Gaz having the typical anti-masculine male voice, this song is again reminiscent of the hugely talented Stones. It’s also got a sense of humor. Check this out:
I got a girl and her name is Mary,
I like to shock her on a basis daily,
I like to push you over into my stream,
I like to point out that her teeth are green

The next sound has to be a homage to David Bowie. ”Jesus Came From Outta Space” actually sounds like a combination between Bowie and Elton John. It’s a good song, but I find myself uninterested in the song. I don’t really like the sound and it’s just too boring for me to be interested in what Supergrass is saying. Oh well.

”Pumping On Your Stereo” is actually a misnomer. In fact, the band repeats the line can you hear us humping on your stereo repeatedly. This again sounds like the Rolling Stones. I very much enjoy this song. I want to tap along to it and I have to actually physically stop myself from clapping. There’s a good reason why this song got some attention last year. The video featured the members of the band in 20ft tall getups from the Jim Henson Creature Shop…the people that brought us Big Bird. This is a great track, and definitely the best on this otherwise mediocre album.

”Born Again” starts too slowly and frankly bores me. I don’t like the lounge-act sounding introduction. Skip this one if you don’t like it…I am betting money you won’t. ”Far Away” is a slowish track with quite a lot of emotion. I like the song, although it’s still not quite as good as my favorite one. I like the drums and relatively heavy electric guitar also.

The twelfth and final track of this album is ”Mama & Papa” in which bassist Mickey Quinn gets his first lead vocal gig with the band. The song quite frankly is boring and too simplistic for my taste. Some people will surely enjoy this, just not me.

As you can see, this album is simply okay. The other two Supergrass LP’s are definitely of a higher quality than this one. If you enjoy the Brit-pop genre, check this album out. Also, if you heard ”Pumping On Your Stereo” and enjoyed it, you may enjoy the album. Although, I’ll stick with my suggestion to buy one of the band’s other attempts over this one.

I’m giving the band’s third album barely 3/5 stars. I will recommend it very, very conditionally. If you like rock music, this album is definitely not for you. If you lean toward liking pop music or Brit-pop pick this album up…you’ll probably greatly enjoy it. I just find that this particular album isn’t great.


Recommended: Yes