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Supergrass - Diamond Hoo Ha
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Buzzing in with ‘Diamond Hoo Ha’, sporting a riff that could drill a hole in Fort Knox, Supergrass have kicked the bucolic whimsy of 2005’s Road To Rouen well and truly into touch. Monkey man Gaz Coombes growls “bite me!” and it’s a warm welcome back.
Not that “mature” Supergrass were bad, it just seemed they were growing up the wrong way. A new dad pushing 30 can still harbour a snarling rock monster with raffish sideburns and a swashbuckling guitar. If he wants to show his age he can use bigger words.
Diamond Hoo Ha showcases a return to fun – not the wide eyes and shimmering teeth of ‘Alright’, but the simple joy of a classic hook and an irresistible riff. Coombes and drummer Danny Goffey have been promoting the album with a series of low-key gigs as Diamond Hoo Ha Men and it’s an approach that suits the record’s no-nonsense boogie and simple pleasures. You can’t imagine the pseudonym fooling anyone, mind – from ‘Bad Blood’’s hard-nut stomp to ‘Whiskey & Green Tea’’s silly psychedelic shenanigans, the Supergrass hallmarks are present and glaring.
Any dips – and there are a couple of deeply ordinary bluesy rollers - are masked by the canny spacing of three heady peaks: the Bowie-esque ‘Rebel In You’ is utterly adorable from laidback groove to joyous coda; ‘The Return Of…’ celebrates inspiration’s reappearance with impossibly catchy jangly guitar; the closing ‘Butterfly’ is as Hunky Dory as so many of the best Supergrass tunes, drawing you in with pummelled piano and soaring harmonies.
Early mid-life crisis out of the way, Diamond Hoo Ha is the sound of the ‘Grass growing old with a swagger. It’ll be ages before it gets embarrassing.
Matthew Horton
