So, I’m readin’ Spinner the other day, right? And they’re all-like, “even though Britpop legends Supergrass have only been done for like nine months after 17 years together… blah, blah, blah, frontman Gaz Coombes is already hard at work on his debut solo album.” Or something like that. Anyway, so I’m like, “whoa, really? Who’s this guy think he is?” And I keep on readin’.
And you’ll never believe this guy Coombes. He’s like “telling all” here! Apparently, the record is being co-produced (whatever that means) by Sam Williams, who was twiddlin’ the knobs or whatever-ya-call-it for that first Supergrass album I Should Coco, and features Coombes playing all the instruments by his precious, lonesome self. Then he starts in with the artsy-fartsy particulars and all that. “It’s going well actually,” he says. “I’ve got five or six completed and totally mixed, so half the album’s totally finished, and the other half is written and just in the process of recording bits and bobs and finished vocals. It’s sounding great, I’m really chuffed.” Get a load of this guy! It’s like he’s freakin’ talking to Barbara Waters or some shit, right? And like, what the heck does “chuffed” mean anyway?! This guy’s somethin’ else.
So, yeah. I’m readin’ on, and Coombes is just talkin’ up a storm about all his motivations and this and that, saying how instead of feeling the urge to take a break after Supergrass split up, he “just really wanted to make [an album]” and gabbing on about how he had “a really productive couple of months, after the split. There’s a lot of songs that came from frustration, that feeling of ants in your pants, just a lot of energy blasted out.” Eee-ee-eew! Gross, right?! Like, what’s this sick-o’s problem, am I right?!
But then I’m thinkin’ to myself: like, what is this shit gonna sound like? Is it one of those things that’s all ‘different’ and ‘ambitious’? Cuz I don’t like music with a buncha bells and whistles and clicks and pops and all that, you know. But swear to god, just as I’m sittin’ there thinkin’ this stuff, there’s Coombes explaining it all! “It’s upbeat in many places, mixed with driving beats, in a cinematic, sort of psychedelic way. Will it scare Supergrass fans? I really don’t know… a lot of the drums are different odd cut up beats and weird things which I love. I need to do those things, get them out quick and spontaneous. That was the idea, spontaneous quick expression of my basement world.”
So, that’s basically the last freakin’ straw for me. I’m all like, “Jeez, check out the ‘artiste’ over here, right?” And I close the freakin’ browser tab or whatever-ya-call-it and I’m swearin’ up a storm about this Coombes guy, you know, cuz I’m hot under the collar. And, well… long story short, that was the first time I was ever “escorted” out of the public library.
• Supergrass: http://www.supergrass.com
• Gaz Coombes on Twitter: http://twitter.com/THEHOTRATS
