CORPORATE LINE: With Road to Rouen, the ghosts of the past have been exorcised and (sort of) laid to rest: Supergrass are ready to face their future, firmly shaking off their old frivolous, cheeky image. There are surprises at every turn, particularly for those who expect Supergrass to be doing buzzsaw pop ten years after they (re)invented the form with their debut album, I Should Coco. In a very good way, Road to Rouen is all over the place. A zither, a ukulele, Led Zep-style psychedelic-folk, brass, strings, the model of drum machine used by Sly & The Family Stone – are all are put to intriguing use.
The album is about a journey; going places, moving on and growing up. “We’ve had some trying times over the last couple of years,” reflects Gaz hesitantly, “and it changes the way you do things. It changed the way I wrote songs.”
THE GREAT:
“Roxy” – The first thing that comes to mind is the Smashing Pumpkins mixed with the Polyphonic Spree. Supergrass is exposing something no one could have ever predicted.
“Low C” – The keyboards carry the rhythm beyond this glorious piece of work.
“Fin” – The John Lennon influence shines through every inch of this track.
THE AVERAGE:
“St. Petersburg” – I’m not sure what to make of this song; sure it’s gorgeous but is there a rhyme to the reason? Does that even make sense?
“Sad Girl” – Fun—but it sounds better than it is.
THE BAD:
“Coffee In The Pot” – Polka? Maybe some dopey lyrics with this intermission it’d have been more than a mere waste of time.
FRANKLY: Supergrass have made something that is a mix of Pink Floyd and the Beatles—even throwing in a little “I Am The Walrus” into “Sad Girl.” Perhaps the most glaring problem with Road To Rouen is that there are only nine tracks, one is an instrumental. Pink Floyd could have gotten away with nine tracks but Supergrass isn’t Pink Floyd and this isn’t a 75 minute record.
+ Rae Gun
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.