supergrass - road to rouen
as i'm sure you know .. the grassies have long harboured desires to grow up and become acknowledged as a proper mature band. no more muppet enhanced videos, no more jaunty little britpop ditties to clutter the nations airwaves, so instead we now get the band being all serious, and experimental in their approaches to pop music. and, as it should, the bloody thing works really well. 9 songs in 35 minutes, including a minute long eastern european drinking song, full on prog excess in the rhythmic changes of the opening 'tales of endurance (parts 4,5 & 6)' and some rather lovely and unusual instrumentation make this combination of mellow moods, sombre tone, and heartwarming melodies, an album to live with for a few months before deciding whether you like it or not.