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Supergrass
Road to Rouen
(Capitol)
First Appeared in The Music Box, November 2005, Volume 12, #11
Written by John Metzger
Growing up isn’t easy; growing up under the watchful eye of the public is
downright impossible. Perhaps the saving grace for Supergrass, then, is that
neither its albums nor its singles really have made much of a dent in the
American market, which means that the band’s awkward maturation thankfully is
being witnessed by scant few. Its latest endeavor, which has been graced with
the tongue-in-cheek title Road to Rouen, is by far the group’s most
sophisticated statement to date, but it’s also its least affecting. In recording
the album, Supergrass set up shop in a converted barn in Rouen, Normandy with
the end goal of embarking upon its second decade of recording with a newly
redefined image. That, it certainly accomplished — at least in the sense that
the singles-driven, Britpop outfit that sculpted the intoxicating Pumping on
Your Stereo and the hyper-kinetic Caught by the Fuzz has given way to
an experimental pretension that is more befitting of a prog-rock collective.
Not that Supergrass’ new direction should be a total surprise. After all, the
ensemble has toyed with these concepts before, such as on the symphonic Born
Again from its self-titled third LP. However, there’s nary a single to be
found within Road to Rouen’s midst, and worse, the collective seems to
have lost completely the playful edge that once sparked its music. Full of rich,
sonic textures, there’s absolutely no doubt that the album is impeccably
produced, and although Tales of Endurance (Parts 4, 5 & 6) and Roxy
are both tediously long, they’re also commendably ambitious. Nevertheless, the
endeavor is plagued by an insularity that comes from closing oneself off to the
world, and as a result, Supergrass’ music sounds both carefully calculated and
emotionally nondescript. 
Road to Rouen is available from
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2005
The Music Box
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