I've waited a few years to say this, and since there are no rooftops I can easily access, this will have to do: Supergrass have returned! After the lackluster and disappointing (at least by Supergrass standards) Life on Other Planets, the quartet released a greatest hits album to coincide with their tenth birthday. Rumors began flying around that the band was ready to call it a day, or at the very best take an extended vacation from the rat race of recording and performing. But rumors are just that — rumors — and Supergrass have come back more mature (as they always do) and much more focused on Road to Rouen.
The tongue-in-cheek album title may play up Gaz and company's battle cry, "We welcome commercial suicide," but the road Supergrass travel this time around is paved with ebony and ivory. Much of Road to Rouen performs a balancing act between the old jet setters and the new, relaxed explorers. There are no traces of the mod-influenced pop of the band's earliest albums, scant hints of the classic pop of the untitled oddity, and nothing remotely linking the band of today with the band that took a misstep with Life on Other Planets. Supergrass have their swagger back, but are happy to downplay their return.
Gems such as "Roxy" and the album's title track are about as close to the old Supergrass as Road to Rouen allows itself to get. The calm keys and guitar of "Roxy" are reminiscent of the slower moments of Supergrass' untitled album, while "Road to Rouen" packs the punch of I Should Coco and In It For the Money without misusing what the band has learned through five albums and countless months on the road. Much of the maturation of the Supergrass sound is found within the album's opening montages. "Tales of Endurance (Parts 4, 5 & 6)," "St. Petersburg," and "Coffee in the Pot" usher in a sound more driven by poppy piano, subtle instrumentation, and unique melodies. But no matter what the changes, one thing will always stay the same: somber, foreboding, yet witty lyrics. Supergrass have learned that you should never abandon what you do best, and not many can boast about wordplay and allegory better than Gaz.
Road to Rouen isn't going to blow away any fan new to Supergrass, nor is any old fan going to go ga-ga over what they're hearing, but it's good to know the band isn't sitting on their laurels fantasizing about killing their commercial appeal. Supergrass are ready to retake their rightful place as Britpop royalty's leading court jester, a little weary, but wiser.
1. Tales Of Endurance (Parts 4, 5 & 6)
2. St. Petersburg
3. Sad Girl
4. Roxy
5. Coffee In The Pot
6. Road To Rouen
7. Kick In The Teeth
8. Low C
9. Fin
More about: Supergrass
