Supergrass - Diamond Hoo Ha
(Parlaphone)
http://www.supergrass.com

The sixth studio album from Oxford’s best loved exports, Supergrass, sees the band attempt to recapture their glam stomping rock heyday of ‘In It For The Money’.

The first single taken off the album, Diamond Hoo Ha Man, is vintage Supergrass; a pounding, catchy melody, whereas Rebel In You sounds like someone’s been listening to too much Franz Ferdinand. The Return Of.. evokes a welcome return to the summer Beach Boys-esque trademark sound that fans came to know and love, while one of the stand out tracks Ghost Of A Friend once again reveals the Ziggy Stardust seventies influence which the band so dearly love and which is never far away from their hearts. Whisky & Green Tea is a heavy guitar-led rock track and an obvious future single.

2005’s rustic, genteel and much muted album Road to Rouen saw a vivid departure from the glam rock of their previous albums as Supergrass grew up. Indeed, gone are the ker-azee, wacky funsters riding chopper bikes on the beach and in their place are a group of talented musicians who have been through triumphs and tragedies, but unlike many casualties of ‘Britpop’ have lived to tell the tale. Diamond Hoo Ha sees Supergrass make a sharp exit off that road less travelled and come full circle into their safety zone, an attitude which betrays their inevitable maturity.

Ali Rees