Life on Other Planets

by

Supergrass

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Back in the mid-90's, I was hooked on the Brit-pop craze that conquered the US with the likes of Blur and Oasis. Blur was my favorite. While I haven't heard those CD's in years, I remember seeing Soundgrass' "Pumping On Your Stereo" on MTV2 four years ago. It literally raised the hairs on the back of my neck. Only Roger Daltrey's scream and finale to "Won't Get Fooled Again" has ever done that! After getting burned by bands such as Spacehog, I decided to stick with what I know (Classic Rock, Seattle Bands). A couple of weeks ago, a friend bought L.O.O.P.,(along with the other three releases). Let's just say this is the first time since I was nine (I'm 33) that I've been totally blown away by a rock band. It's as if the members of this band took the Beatles, Who, Stones, Bowie, T-Rex, Byrds, early Traffic, Thunderclap Newman, Tom Petty, Velvet Underground/Lou Reed, Jefferson Airplane, etc. and stirred it into one giant kettle. The outcome is a totally original sound. Their music is so complex, take "Rush Hour Soul". The bulk of the song is Hunky Dory Bowie-esque, but the chorus is late 60's Pink Floyd. How can you do that? This is an amazing band, and without a doubt the best on the planet right now. While Supergrass is selling platinum albums in the rest of the world, the shallow US music market is hooked on rap and bubble gum pop. All that matters now is how pretty you are and how many ways you can make money selling your image. What a shame.

I really like the Supergrass sound. It's catchy as all hell, sounds like nothing else on the radio yet manages to have a 'classic' sound all it's own. "Alright" off "I Should Coco" is still one of the great top-down, radio-blaring songs of the last decade.

I simply disagree that this is their best work to date. The sound is there but the songs aren't. There's nothing as instantly addictive as "Pumping On The Stereo" here. I've listened through it several times now, and the songs are recognizable, but nothing screams "put me on your semi-annual compilation CD".

I've read so many lavish reviews, I wonder if I've missed something...