Popscene at Passion of the Weiss: Supergrass - “In It For The Money”

My latest Popscene feature is up at Passion of the Weiss. This week I’m writing about Supergrass’s 1997 sophomore album, In It For The Money. If you’re not familiar with it, there’s never been a better time to discover the exuberant pop mastery of the three lads from Oxford. Click the excerpt below to read the whole piece.

Coombes and co. look backwards while moving forward, alchemizing the classics into sparkling modern pop with surprising sonic inventiveness; “Richard III” is pure Stooges until the chorus, where Gaz’s growl and Ron Asheton guitar compete with a Theremin. They burnish Who’s Next-style ballad, “It’s Not Me,” with wah-wah guitars, shakers and bubbling synths. In It… particularly showcases two underrated attributes in song writing: pacing and dynamics. Listen to how “Cheapskate” shifts from Hi Records groove on the verses to a joyous yelp of a chorus. Or the way Coombes’ vocals ably glide through the strummed verses of “You Can See Me” before barking out the chorus.