Supergrass: Supergrass (Parlophone)
When an established band suddenly gets all eponymous on your ass, you know they mean business. And when Moving, the opening track of Supergrass's self-titled album, veers between Pink Floyd's Animals and XTC's Drums & Wires, then you know you're in for a bit of a rock 'n' rollercoaster ride. Gaz, Mickey, Danny and Gaz's cuz, Rob, have a nifty knack for pulling various influences out of the hat and weaving them into clever, colourful shapes; What Went Wrong (In Your Head) and Beautiful People sound vaguely like Wings and John Lennon pastiches, but they're rendered credible by the band's razor-sharp rock instincts and tasty, fret-licking riffs. Although the 'Grass haven't lost sight of their exuberant, mischievous roots, they seem to have developed a slight Stones obsession: Mary, Jesus Came From Outer Space and Pumping On Your Stereo conjure up hazy visions of late nights listening to Sticky Fingers on the rehearsal room stereo.
Kevin Courtney
Brand New Day (A&M Records)
Sting, as we all know, was once a school teacher. Maybe that's why sometimes when he sings he sounds as though he's lecturing. As in the title song of this album in which, amid a laundry list of opposites he actually says: "you're the pupil and I'm the teacher". Likewise, A Thousand Years seems more like mere word-play than a lyric he was compelled to write. And as for Perfect Love . . . Gone Wrong, which is sung from the perspective of a dog. Well, let's just say it's slightly less effective than his strangely empathetic look at life though the eyes of a prostitute, Tomorrow We'll See. But it has been a long time since Sting made music that was relevant to anyone other than himself. Pass.