Here Come The Bombs [CD]

It's usually not a good sign when an artist starts thinking about their creativity too much. When Gaz Coombes announced before the release of the Supergrass album 'Road To Rouen' that we should expect a "more mature sound" my heart sank. All I could think of was that episode of Seinfeld where Jerry tells George that he thinks that he's maturing and George says, "Oh I hate to hear this".

'Road To Rouen' didn't turn out as bad as I feared and in fact had some great songs on it but the seeds of 'what are we about?' had been sown in the band's mind and ultimately produced the failed crop that was 'Diamond Hoo Ha'. After listening to that collection of songs as much as I could bear, 'Diamond' became the first Supergrass album that I didn't buy.

It seems that the Hot Rats covers album with Supergrass drummer Danny Goffey and producer Nigel Godrich have provided revitalization and inspiration for Mr. Coombes as he returns to his own songs with added vigour.

With a mixture of surprise and delight I find myself feeling that with his first solo outing Gaz Coombes has produced an album of greatest hits. Some of the songs here would sit very well on your favourite Supergrass release while others use that standard as a jumping off point to greater heights. Many of them have several parts (not simply verse, chorus, verse) and all of them build on what's gone before which increases the pleasure of each song.

It's an odd comparison but the amount of creativity here reminds me of early Genesis - like them or not, they wouldn't hold back when it came to song writing, preferring to throw every great idea that they had at a particular time into one song. There are so many great bits of music here that another artist might have reserved some to make more songs out of them later, or even another album. You have to give Gaz Coombes credit for the standard of his song writing and then, on top of that, throwing everything and the kitchen sink into this record - and yet there's a cohesiveness to the whole set. It's nothing short of thrilling.

My favourite Supergrass album is 'In It For The Money' and what Gaz Coombes has produced here equals if not exceeds it. It's just jam-packed with great tunes. Without doubt it's the album of the year so far.

I expected to really enjoy this (I am very biased towards the 'Grass) and I bloomin' well did. The BBC review above is correct, it takes a few listens to fully appreciate and it clicked big style for me this very morn. I admit I'm still getting to grips with the song titles but it's early days, by the end of the summer I'll be an expert on them.

I can't recommend it enough, especially for fellow Supergrass fiends, but hopefully it will appeal beyond those borders.

When the lead singer goes solo, you expect one of two outcomes. Either it becomes obvious that the talented one was someone else in the band ( see Beady Eye ) or you get more of the same, hopefully with an added twist.

Thankfully this fits the latter of the two, as Gaz hasn't lost his ear for a good tune, but has allowed himself to be a bit more experimental on the arrangement. Gone are the searing harmonies, pianos and jollity of Supergrass in their heyday, replaced by distortion, tempo changes and electronic beats.

In the same way that Wreckorder is unmistakably Travis' Fran Healy, Gaz Coombes' distinctive voice is clear from beginning to end. But while the Healy's album is a Travis work by another name, this has Coombes name staomped all over it, although some of the vocals and arrangements are so Beatles-esque, it is a little eery.

Overall though I've had this on repeat invthevcar for the last few days and I am not tired of it yet. It requires proper attention, but rewards you with sublime music in return.