Few press releases have cause us to lose our breath quite like the one we received last week that referred to Gaz Coombes as “former Supergrass frontman.” FORMER? We get 600 music emails a week, and no joke, this was the first we had heard about Supergrass disbanding. Worse, it happened two years ago. Even after a quick poll of our Anglophile friends, several people admitted that they hadn’t heard the news, either. This is not happening, this is not happening…
Having said that, it doesn’t surprise us in retrospect that the ‘Grass decided to call it a day. They’d come up with a killer tune here and there, and even a solid album – we remember loving Road to Rouen, though we haven’t listened to it in years, which is telling – but by and large the band’s best days were behind them. From listening to the opening of “Hot Fruit,” the first single from Coombes’ solo debut Here Come the Bombs, we’re starting to wish the band had broken up sooner, because the first 15 seconds of the song have more unique ideas happening at the same time than anything Supergrass has released in a decade. The album drops on May 21. The day can’t come quickly enough.
Bonus video: We never miss an opportunity to post this one. “Pumping on Your Stereo” should be mandatory viewing for anyone who wants to get into the music video business. You don’t need hot chicks (though they’re nice) or fast cars (though they’re nice, too) in your clips: you just need to turn the band into giant muppets.
