Supergrass – Diamond Hoo Ha

I’ll bet you thought I forgot about Supergrass, didn’t you? Well, I actually did, but not so much in this blog, I actually forgot that they existed for most of the time between the 90′s release of their self-titled album and the 2008 release of their newest album, the awesomely-named Diamond Hoo Ha. So, we should probably discuss this thing before it’s too late:

Demonstrating their British sense of spacing album releases out, after 14 years of actively being an incredible band, this is only Supergrass’ sixth album. Come on, guys, Johnny Cash put out over 20 albums in just his first 8 years, at least meet us halfway huh? Either way, the band had apparently taken the gap between their life-changing self-titled album and this one to release one incredible album that I haven’t heard yet, and one stripped-down contemplative album that I also haven’t heard but am now very interested in. In the time between 2005′s Road To Rouen and Diamond Hoo Ha, the band underwent some difficulties. For one, the Coombes’ mother died, which is a tragic thing to have happen to any writer of songs. The studio they used for the album, which once a notable studio where David Bowie had recorded, had to practically be rebuilt to accommodate the recording, which makes me curious as to why the band couldn’t just record in a working studio, but oh well.

The other thing, possibly less tragic but nonetheless a very direct distraction: the bassist fell out of a window and broke his back. Yeah, that sounds like the start of a great Rock N’ Roll story, but it turns out Mick Quinn has a bit of a problem with sleepwalking. He walked out of a first story window and broke two vertebrae and probably thought a hospital stay would be a good idea. Two of the other founding members of the band (Gaz Coombes and Danny Goffey) were not too deterred, however, as they decided to go on the road, half to promote the upcoming album (which had been recorded prior to the accident) or just because they felt like making fun of the White Stripes, as a drum and guitar duo called “The Diamond Hoo Ha Men”, even going so far as to film a “mockumentary” of the experience that I doubt has come to America yet, but still. A little bit of the film can be seen here, and the band used bits of that to make their music video for the self-titled first track.

Either way, given the setbacks, I would have forgiven my favorite brit-pop rockers if they turned in an album of complete crap with “Diamond Hoo Ha Man” attached, as bigger bands have done worse, but in fact the album is really good all around, so no forgiveness needed! Apparently it’s not contrived from any of their more recent work, which I regretfully missed, and it’s certainly lacking (except for one song) that sort of “turning beautiful British melancholic tunes on their collective ear” sensibility when it came to bizarre chord progressions and adventurous tenor singing that the two albums before that contained. Thus, the only real way to compare it to any of Supergrass’ earlier work is that it’s a lot like their very first album, the wild teenage energy of I Should Coco being pushed aside for a more “mature” rock sound wherein the cheeky youth who was being busted for drugs in “Caught By The Fuzz” or crashing cars into walls in “All Right” is now a grown man for whom the drugs and cars are now a habit rather than a bit of fun.

I am not sure whether it’s intentional or not, but there is a mood cast over Diamond Hoo Ha that relentless points to vices, dangerous situations, and a kind of tiredness in Gaz’s voice where he sounds to be slurring over the night’s 35th drink. Still, layered over this, is a more pounding, rhythmic Supergrass instrument section, where the tunes are a little more standard and, well, boring in places, but the hooks are still there for the most part. In particular, “Bad Blood” has an amazing interplay between the vocal melody, the guitar counter-melody, and the bass-line even throws in another element to the tune rather than just add body to the rhythm. It’s moments like that one that really shine in this album, because there aren’t a whole lot of them.

Critically, the slurry, adult, kind of boring Supergrass have been getting a lot of flack for this album, but honestly I am fine with this thing, at least after about 5 listens. There is some variety to be heard, especially when my new-found love of David Bowie gave me kind of a “Oh I see what you did there” attitude with “Rebel In You”, which is less Kinks and more Bowie. Supergrass does “glam” really well, as they have demonstrated since the beginning, but without the actual pretense and kind of eyebrow-raising look that the glam rockers have always adopted. That’s just the thing, it’s really hard to fault Supergrass for anything, because they’re one of the few large groups that I feel have done it right. They started early with enough energy to set Godzilla on a rampage, and they matured their sound to melancholy rock magic in the very next album right around the time the singer broke the age of 20, and instead of being dragged down by predictable vices or tragedies worse than a hospital stay because of an honest accident, the band has continued on into a very comfortable middle age where they can be Hunter S. Thompson for an album before moving on to the next thing, which may be even better.

Basically, this album is worth a listen, if not for the first few tracks, which are all hits in their own right, than for the last few songs, the last of which seems to be an homage to their more traditional form of throwing out as many chords as they can whilst crooning. Supergrass is awesome, and I’m kind of glad that I realize that again when there are two more albums out there for me to find and enjoy. Until next time!

Supergrass – In It For The Money

It’s time, once again, to visit one of my very favorite English rock bands, Supergrass, and their amazing second album, In It For The Money:

Now, if you remember my previous Supergrass writing, for I Should Coco, and I know I don’t, you may know that the band started out doing some silly, spastic, and quite fast music, which is no surprise since they were basically kids back then. Well, in only 2 years’ time, they suddenly went collectively from being a bratty teenage boy just acting up for attention to a manly man with piercing blue eyes and uncontrollable sideburns who is bedding all your women. It’s the fastest case of musical maturity I’ve ever seen, to tell you the truth, and the fact that they were able to refine the sound even further to a serious yet still whimsical rock sound that permeates bits of this album and most of the band’s self-titled third album (which I have also apparently already covered) is a mark of true blue musical mastery.

Don’t be too fooled by the darker, more serious sound of this album, it still has the same eccentric themes and unique word-play that made I Should Coco so interesting. The title track, which starts up the album but hardly even starts itself before bleeding into the next track, is a strange juxtaposition of words like “All I can see is our love, all I can hear is her” and of course, the chanting “We’re in it for the money”. The chord progression, which I really must get the recipe for, is a hallmark progression for this trio, and really the roots of it are hidden in popular British music somewhere. Maybe if I can tap into that, I too can be in it for the money!

The second song, “Richard III”, is one of the harder songs on the album. It’s got some great fuzz bass and the distorted pounding of that beautiful, beautiful Gibson SG that singer/guitarist/sexy guy Gaz plays throughout most of the album. Of note in this song is the use of a Theremin, which is an instrument I have paper-thin patience for, as so many people have no idea what to do with one, since playing it only requires waving your hands around a thing (as illustrated in an old-tymey video clip in the song’s video). The use of a theremin is something I consider morally wrong, but in this song, it works too well to really bring the hammer down on it. I approve, is what I’m largely getting at.

“Tonight” is a lovely “back to the old days” type quick and eccentric little number built around a distinct blues riff that opens the song all by itself. Horns back up this song, as well as the first one, now that I think about it, but this is probably the best song on the album for fans of I Should Coco, and even though it talks about parties, it still exudes more maturity than that whole previous album. Not bad at all!

My favorite song on the album, I’m convinced, is “Late In The Day” (the video for which inspired me to write this whole thing so I decided to link it like in the deal). It starts with a well-orchestrated series of acoustic guitar chords and Gaz’s simple sonnet about the lateness of the day and thinking about you, the “you” in this story being one of the hundreds of women who have fell in love with him, the bastard. The song builds up into a pounding chorus, built on top a solid piano chord, and decorated with the guitar and organ and bass, which then give way for a synthesizer solo (which sounds a lot like a theremin but is perhaps something closer to an Ondes Martenot and that’s my last word on obscure instruments today). The song is beautiful and the video is the best pogo-sticking music video I’ve ever seen, for what it’s worth.

“G-Song” has a much more alternative-rock feel, but with the punchiness of a Supergrass song, and some riffy parts that are just cool, no matter where they come from. The voice is more pushed back and sounds like it’s being recorded through a karaoke machine from the pizza parlor across the street or something. It’s clearly intentional, though, this band is really on top of their production quality. The song occasionally goes into differently-timed jamming sections, and I am very pleased with that.

“Sun Hits The Sky” is another “hit” from this album, and it deserves to be. On top of having a really cool music video (!!!) This song conveys, better than most, the awesome “lead” drumming skills of Danny Goffey, in fact not only are his amazing (my guess: Mitch Mitchell-inspired) drumming skills the centerpiece of this fast-paced piece, but Mick Quinn’s bassing is at its most distinct in the chorus and ending to this song. I will admit that Mick is something of a hero of mine, even if it’s Gaz I am the most jealous of. Another instrumentalist this song features in solo is the keyboardist Rob Coombes, who gets a kickin’ synth solo. He only JUST became a permanent member of the band, despite having played, recorded, and toured with them for years and years, and he’s Gaz’s brother, talk about unwilling to change the lineup!

“Going Out” is a wonderful bluesy song that seems to be built around a circus organ theme. What else can I say about that?

“It’s Not Me” is the second acoustic-guitar-based song on the album, and in fact is a little more refined than “Late In The Day”. Not that that’s automatically a good thing, in fact this song takes a bit to pick up. If you are a fan of flanged, almost synth-like bass guitar, then this is the song you’ve been waiting for!

“Cheapskate” is a kind of disco-inspired track with a bit of a hard-rock edge. Still, despite the fact that it’s close to being a regular Supergrass song, I could see shakin’ your groove-thing to this. The bass really gives it away.

“You Can See Me” starts with some hollow-sounding keyboards and then brings in the acoustic guitars and other keyboards as well and Gaz sings about… I have no idea. The vocals start pushed back, and by the chorus, they’ve thrown so much distortion on his whiny vox that it’s hard to tell what’s what anymore. Despite all this, I love this song.

Then we have “Hollow Little Reign” which features acoustic piano and porno-sounding wah guitar. The song’s got a bit of a lounge feel to it, but that’s not to its detriment. Of course, as is the case with songs like this that aren’t just simple jams, the chorus changes the song radically and then it changes right back. I kind of dig that about Supergrass, those dudes really know how to do a chorus.

“Sometimes I Make You Sad” is one of those songs that I am glad is around. It’s entirely weird, the whole thing is a crunchy, distorted organ, and what sounds like humans going “Ohhmf” in the background for percussion. There is very little other than that going on in the song, except for the lyrics proper, until it gets to one section with an absolutely smoking acoustic guitar solo that actually might be a different acoustic stringed instrument, but I promised I wouldn’t get into obscure instruments any more today.

Either way, that song wraps up the album nicely, unless you spring for the out-of-print CD version like I am planning on. Still, whether Supergrass is really In It For The Money or not, they are certainly worth every penny.

Supergrass – I Should Coco

All right, it’s a new month, and I’m now over 90 as far as entries go! Coincidentally, I’m talking about an album from the 90′s! Honestly though, I didn’t think I would get this far without skipping even a single day, so it’s a shame that I won’t be able to update for a while starting next month.

As you may well know, I’m a bassist here in Austin, one of about maybe 12 interspersed throughout thousands of bands, but it just so happens one of my acts is getting signed to a major NY-based label and I’m going to be part of the touring group (I’ll give more details later, until papers are signed I do not want to drop names)! I’ll see about getting a laptop/aircard to keep the updates coming, but I have precious little time to prepare what with moving out and everything, and it’s practically a given that I’m going to miss a day or two, unless I write in bulk and pre-post, but I didn’t go into this blawg with that intention.

But that’s neither here nor there, today we are talking about a band that I have written of before (this phenomenon is getting more and more frequent), Supergrass:

Now, I only scratched the surface of how much hatred, jealousy, and utter respect I have for this band’s singer/guitarist, Gaz Coombes (not his real name but even better than the real thing). Let me paint you a picture of my life as a frustrated human being by comparing it to this guy, most likely the youngest of my heroes and influences.

Firstly, Gaz was born in England. I am quite proud to have been born in my favorite state, Texas, six years later, but I still think if I were English it would suit my style far better. When I Should Coco came out in ’95, Gaz was about 19 years old, a competent guitarist (far moreso than I was at that age), and remains a better singer/songwriter than me, at least in the spastic and far-reaching genre of whatever Supergrass is in. Not only was he a great guitarist, but he owned and played (and still plays) a Gibson SG. This is a guitar that, at least in the right color and year, I have been coveting for well over a decade. Despite its presence as kind of a “standard” guitar of rock music (only second to the Fender Stratocaster in terms of recognizability), I still adore and admire the thing, and Gaz had one by the time I was even starting to play music. Also, Supergrass were all teenagers when they got signed and started touring and coming out with these amazing albums, and I’m just now getting started with all that.

Still, I’m not one to moan, I’ve got a bass that is basically the Gibson bass equivalent to the SG, and in fact it’s partially due to Supergrass bassist Mickey Quinn that I learned to play it so well. Which leads me, finally, to the point: how is the debut album from this band of teenagers in jolly old England?

In a word, awesome. In two words and some italics, really awesome. In about 1000 more words:

It starts off exactly as an album like this should, with a speedy drum fill as the crunchy guitars and blatty organs bring us the two-chord body of “I’d Like To Know”. It’s a very speedy song, indeed, despite its length of 4 minutes. Though the main parts of the song are done with the same 2 guitar chords and wonderful rolling beat/bass-line, the chorus introduces one of Supergrass’ best talents: the multitude of guitar chords. After the chorus is a strange transition, and after the second chorus and quick guitar/vocal bridge, the song changes almost entirely as the band explores chord progressions in an almost irresponsible way, before taking it right on back to one more chorus. It’s a compelling introductory song, to say the least, and the chorus “I’d like to go where all the strange ones go” is entirely fitting.

In case you thought this album would have just one song, you are completely fooling yourself, as the next song is indeed a song. Fans of Simon Pegg and his sometimes great movies might recognize “Caught By The Fuzz” as being the song that plays over the end credits to the film Hot Fuzz. It’s a great ditty about being thrown in jail at the tender age of 15 on a drug bust. It conveys the regret and fear of being a kid having to face one of life’s most feared consequences.

“Mansize Rooster” reminds me exactly of a stripped-down Madness song (yes, piano, multiple guitars, and lots of chord changes would be considered “stripped down” for a Madness song, the band had like 40 members). It’s a wonderful pop song, and the chorus is especially fun, kind of like the video, which I think will speak for the song adequately.

“Alright”, another bouncy piano-based pop number, should be most notable as being covered by Alvin & The Chipmunks in the Wii game of the same title (voted worst Wii game of 2007, possibly all time!) I am pretty sure this song has been used elsewhere, too, and if it hasn’t, it ought to be! It’s a crazy catchy song, and rather friendly, even if it talks about smoking fags (which  means something entirely different in England).

Fans of more modern Supergrass songs should be relieved to hear “Lose It”, as it is more along the lines of their “familiar” style of being in a minor key, and generally heavier than the bouncy pop they established at this point.

An interesting follow-up to that is “Lenny”, a song that starts off with the bass and guitar playing a low note on the down-beat of a punk drum part. This lasts for a seemingly long time, but then the song turns into a song that makes sense, and a bonus for waiting through that strange intro is the presence of bongos! I should maybe stop identifying songs on this album as “catchy”, though, because I’m realizing now that it pretty much applies to every song but maybe a couple.

Continuing in the theme set up by “I’d Like To Know”, “Strange Ones” expounds further on the topic of “The Strange Ones”, and instead of playing around with chord progressions, the band changes rhythm and even tempo a few times. It goes from a straightforward rock song to a swingin’, almost rockabilly-like beat. Daniel Goffey, the band’s drummer, is quite incredible, as he seems to have picked up the “lead drum” sensibilities of Keith Moon and Mitch Mitchell, only in a way that is still tight with the rest of the group. It gives the sound, at least for this album, a very clever “looseness” and sense of chaos, when everything is actually well under control.

Speaking of under control, the next song, “Sitting Up Straight” fools us into thinking that we’re about to hear a jazzy piano piece set to church bells, but then the lyrics and punk beat come in, and we’re back to the high-adrenaline musical cheekiness, only to have that blown away in the very next song!!!!

“She’s So Loose” starts off with early-Radiohead-sounding guitar chords, on an acoustic guitar, as Gaz explores the more drawn-out side of English tenor. The song is still fun, of course, but it has a lot more of that very responsible English Pop sound in it. I can’t believe this dude could belt out notes like that at age 19, and had the good sense to write it into the music. So jealous.

The strangest song in a collection of rather eccentric songs is “We’re Not Supposed To”, which might be considered a normal song if it weren’t for the fact that it’s sped up to Chipmunk speed (must be why one of their songs was “chipmunked”). It’s a good song, but I am not into the Chipmunks, so I will say I am merely relieved that this song is only 2 minutes.

A bluesy guitar song brings us back to planet Earth with “Time”, a song that would remind me of the “good” Rolling Stones if it weren’t for how long Gaz sings most of the notes, which is a long time. Quite a good song, and I would call it kind of “generic” if it didn’t bend the Blues rules so much by incorporating a 4th chord.

Then, as if all those songs weren’t enough, we have the wonderfully-titled “Sofa (Of My Lethargy)”, which is almost a Beatles-esque song that is sung more in the middle range of Gaz’s vocal reach, and is quite pleasant, especially with the melodic bass-line. I happen to love when basses play the melody, it gives us something to do, you see, other than count beats.

Finally, the aptly-named “Time To Go”, a 2-minute long loungey song about it being time to go. I kind of like songs like this, that are intentionally written to be used at the ends of albums and concerts to properly say “good bye” to everyone.

Speaking of, it’s time for a “band meeting” to discuss our exciting future. Time to go! See you on the road!

Supergrass – Supergrass

I couldn’t help but notice I’m doing two eponymous albums in a row, which should be unusual, but come on there are SO MANY OF THEM. Leave me alone! Jeeze.

Usually self-titled (or EPONYMOUS for people who like to be smart) albums are debuts. I don’t know why that is, because you’d think a group or artist would put as much effort as humanly possible into their first album, and that would include a great title for the album that will really hook people in. Supergrass did the right thing in this regard, as they expended all their cleverness into their debut album’s title, which is I Should Coco. Indeed, Supergrass is the band’s third effort, and probably their best work to date. I say this because I have only heard their 2008 release Diamond Hoo Ha (absolutely the best title for an album I have heard if memory serves).

I never thought about it before, since I’ve been listening to this album since the 90′s, but a friend pointed out when I told her that I had just picked up I Should Coco that Supergrass is “such a stuck-in-the-90′s band”. Well, for one, that’s a pretty pretentious thing to say for a Flaming Lips fan, and for two, it’s actually kind of true. I certainly didn’t even think to check out the band’s releases after this one until just last year. I guess it’s just strange since I don’t feel like the 90′s are THAT far in the past, but it is true that Supergrass saw a lot of air-time at that time.

It really sucked for me to learn just how old the band is… the lead singer Gaz was a mere 23 years of age when Supergrass came out, which would have made him 19 when I Should Coco came out. I’m 26 and barely even qualify as famous! Still, he certainly got there on talent. From the opening notes of the first song of Supergrass, “Moving“, you can tell the guy has a remarkably clean voice and can hit some high notes ala early Radiohead. The difference is that Supergrass, on the whole, are remarkably fun. Even though most of the early tracks (including the next two songs, “Your Love” with its directly-ripped-off-from-the-Kinks harpsichord, and “What Went Wrong (In Your Head)“) seem quite serious amidst the funky basslines and cymbal-crazy drumming, there are a few surprises in store later on.

When the fourth track, “Beautiful People” starts up with its staccato guitar and minory piano, the album seems much more like a pop album than something really “alternative”, but there’s definitely something English about it all. The really unusual thing is that the status quo songs and the slower jams are all at the beginning of the album, a first-time listener might be confused when “Shotover Hill” appears in the middle, because it almost sounds like a song to end an album on. However, the real fun is coming…

The album’s 6th track, called “Eon“, starts off with harmonious guitar feedback and keyboard lines that crescendo with the bass and drums throughout nearly half the song, and then the singing takes place in a very calm area of the song, as if one has just been rocketed out of the mundane English Rock of the rest of the album, and off into orbit we go, sailing into the metaphorical B-side to the thing, to untold adventures of what Supergrass really has to offer.

First off is “Mary“, with its guitar feedback and E-piano bluesy riffs, to give us the first departure from the status quo.

I got a girl and her name is Mary
I like to shock her on a basis daily
I like to push her over into my stream
I like to point out that her teeth are green

Ahh, that’s much better! The song is so immensely cool, and features that wonderful mischief this young band is known for. Indeed, as the song’s last line dictates, “The back of every head holds something obscene”.

An awesome drumline opens up the next track, “Jesus Came From Outta Space” (some of those video images are hilarious), which is the first real “rock n’ roll” song on the album, and it is indeed rockin’. From the killer chorus about love and the verse lines about how we’ve lost our way (at least, that’s my best guess) to the percussive breakdown in the middle, the song harkens to a style older than the 90′s at least. I’d always considered the “fun” side of Supergrass to be something the Rolling Stones would write if they weren’t ancient.

Just in case you thought perhaps the band was only going to completely rock out for one track, then comes the best song on the whole album, “Pumping On Your Stereo” (seriously check out that video it is SO GOOD) which a friend swears they sing “Humping On Your Stereo” and I dunno that sounds unlikely. Everything about this song is amazing, particularly the way the bassline and guitar/keyboard work together to basically sound like a piano, so of course the piano should get its own moment in the spotlight before the final chorus. Of course, once all this rockin’ is over with, the best way to end the song, I feel, is to have a lot of studio-applause, so it’s good that Supergrass caught on to that.

Do you like cellos? In that case, you may be interested in the next song, “Born Again“, which starts off with a whole mess of them playing nothing in particular. The rest of the instruments come in to throw down a spacey ultra-cool minor-key jam with a thundering upright bass line as the cellos play away far in the background. The lyrics almost seem like we’re back on Earth, but not before the next-to-final song, which sounds a bit like it comes from the David Bowie part of space.

“Faraway” is probably one of the best choruses on the album, particularly when played live. There’s also that move I mentioned a long time ago that I really like, where the song changes a bit in the vocal melody, and is then layered over the chorus for the final moments of the song. The instruments then crescendo into a crazy wall of sound, as if we are finally making our entrance back to Earth for one more song.

Indeed, the rockin’ really took it out of us, so the last song is a relaxing lullaby-like number, “Mama & Papa” about the singer missing his mommy & daddy. Quite unusual but very pretty, and that’s what I’ve come to expect from one of my favorite stuck-in-the-90′s bands. Honestly, I really should get cracking on hearing their newer stuff.

 

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