Supergrass: Diamond Hoo Ha
Gaz and co return for their sixth studio outing.
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Monday, 17, Mar 2008 04:10
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In a nutshell...
Fresh. Bouncy. Cheeky. Boozy. Nostalgic.
What's it all about?
After a three year absence - in which the band was affected by injury and illness - Supergrass return with their first album since 2005's Road To Rouen and their sixth since the awesome debut I Should Coco.
A mooted comeback occurred last autumn when the band played a number of intimate gigs at venues across the UK as the Diamond Hoo Ha Men - a moniker that they have dropped but retained as an song title and the inspiration for the album name.
Who's it by?
One of Oxford's most successful musical exports, Supergrass are lead singer Gaz Coomes, his brother Rob on keyboard, Danny Goffey on drums and backing vocals, while Mick Quinn provides bass.
As an example.
"Got to get you in my suitcase/Oh, can't you see/I want you/Got to get you in my suitcase/I'm going to hot tail/To the motel/Love you all night long/Oh my baby bell." - Diamond Hoo Ha Man
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
It is very doubtful that this album will resonate far from these shores - Supergrass are still Britpop in a can - so Grammys won't be on the radar.
What the others say
"They released Road to Rouen back in 2005, a beautiful album of folky pop tunes. But where that record sounded like a band that had moved on and grown up, Diamond Hoo Ha sounds like one stomping its feet and refusing to come out of its room." - Independent
So is it any good?
Supergrass are a band I've grown up with. Back when I Should Coco came out, I was just noticing what music really was. Alright was - and still is - an anthem. In It For The Money produced some quality singles - Richard III most notably - while the self-titled third album took on a more grown up approach, producing Jesus Came from Outta Space and Pumping on Your Stereo.
These days, I feel like a grown-up and, as such, I kind of expect those musical influences to have done the same. It's not always for the best when they do grow up, but progressing musically is just something that should happen.
With Diamond Hoo Ha, Supergrass have attempted to move on and creep into the noughties. Whisky and Green Tea is a stomping piece of music, while Diamond Hoo Ha Man kicks the album off at a good, pleasant pace.
At times though, their ploy to keep up with the times often verges towards copying, with Rebel In You sounds suspiciously like a Franz Ferdinand effort.
But, too often their music hasn't progressed and the fun-loving, don't care attitude which was great on a debut album sounds tired and bewildered on a fifth record.
It is no surprise that Supergrass sound best when guitars, bass, and keyboards are rolling on all cylinders and when not one specific instrument hogging the spotlight. It is what made I Should Coco one of the best debuts of the 90s.
A welcome return to the scene but it could have been so much better.
6.5/10
Richard Fox