Supergrass
★★★★
Road To Rouen
BMG. CD/DL/LP
How the Britpop imps plumbed hidden depths.
“It would have been a lie to try and do ‘up’ music at that point,” remembered bassist Mick Quinn of Supergrass’s fifth LP, with the death of singer Gaz Coombes’ mother and the tabloid attention accorded to drummer Danny Goffey and his wife Pearl Lowe having temporarily sucked the fun out of the Oxford scamps. Back for its 20th anniversary, Road To Rouen features radio unfriendly singles like St Petersburg, and more than a hint of The Dark Side Of The Moon in the title track, Kick In The Teeth and Alan Parsons Project-worthy opener Tales Of Endurance. An accompanying contemporary live disc features covers of The Doors’ Hyacinth House, Gil Scott-Heron’s Lady Day And John Coltrane and – tellingly – none of their cheeky hits. However, the languid Roxy and the Macca-esque Fin are moving in ways that no other Supergrass songs are. Grace under considerable pressure.