•
Rating:
One of the first annual releases in the "British heavyweight" category is the sixth studio effort by Supergrass, titled "Diamond Hoo Ha".
The Oxfordians led by Gaz Coombes took three years to complete the follow-up to the excellent "Road To Rouen"; the publication was delayed by a few months due to an accident involving bassist Mick Queen, who fell from a first-floor window during a sleepwalking episode (!).
The producer chosen for the occasion is Nick Launay, who has previously worked with INXS, The Virgin Prunes, Talking Heads, Silverchair, and especially Nick Cave (he has worked on the most recent "Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!"). Launay is known for managing to extract a rough and "live" sound from the records he works on, and this time is no exception. It's no coincidence that on the cover, Coombes proudly wields a Fender Telecaster Custom.
The return of the four heroes of "I Should Coco" is a gutsy, guitar-driven album, as foretold by the opening single "Diamond Hoo Ha Man", which brazenly and thoroughly draws from the raw garage style of the White Stripes. Even "Bad Blood", the new release, doesn't fall short, continuing in the same vein, despite venturing into slightly Stooges-inspired territories; it is certainly the piece that most closely recalls the sound of the earliest Supergrass.
"Diamond..." is a record clearly in love with the typical ‘60s/‘70s sounds, a fun and inspired kaleidoscope of sounds and colors masterfully mixed, even when the band decides to "loosen up" completely and unleash their innate goofiness, deliberately repressed in the more "mature" "Road To Rouen"; see under "Whisky & Green Tea", with rather heavy strumming (allow me the term semi-hard rock) and a sax completely out of control bouncing here and there.
There is no shortage of the more "canonical" britpop of "Return Of Inspiration" and "Ghost Of A Friend", while "When I Needed You" is a piano-driven rock enhanced by a beautiful electric guitar solo. "345" (already released as the b-side of the first single) is pleasantly Stones-esque; the closer "Butterfly", on the other hand, feels a lot (too much!) like David Bowie (the record was, coincidentally, partly recorded in Berlin).
A great return for Supergrass, which rewards the long wait, and gives us back a band still in shape and ready to amaze.
Key Tracks: "Diamond Hoo Ha Man", "Return Of Inspiration", "Whisky & Green Tea"
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
03 Rebel in You (04:41)
A little hard to get
But I got time for you
Yeah it's hard to move on
So why don't you come back?
Well I'm an intelligent guy
But am I wasting my time?
I try talking to you
And I'm staring to wonder, starting to wonder…
Can't save the rebel in you
Hands down you're beautiful
Get the feeling that you cannot move now
Hands down you're beautiful
Some kind of fascination
Hands down you're beautiful, you're beautiful.
You're in the land that time forgot
I wouldn't wait for you
Now it's happening again
So why don't you come back?
(Why don't you come back?)
Oh many times you've been
Sailing out of view
Yeah it's always the same
Now I'm starting to wonder, starting to wonder…
You can't stop the rebel in you
Hands down you're beautiful
You get the feeling that you cannot move now
Hands down you're beautiful
Some kind of fascination
Hands down you're beautiful, you're beautiful, oh!
You can't save the rebel in you
Hands down you're beautiful
Get the feeling that you cannot move now
Hands down you're beautiful
Can't stop the rebel in you
Hands down you're beautiful
Get the feeling that you cannot lose now
Hands down you're beautiful
Some kind of fascination
Hands down you're beautiful, you're beautiful, oh!
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh...
Loading comments slowly
