Supergrass - Kiss Of Life (2008)

After three years out of the limelight, with just their appearance on the 'Mike Bassett: England Manager' soundtrack to keep their name in the public eye, Supergrass returned in 2002 with their fourth album 'Life On Other Planets', which was released in September. It was recorded at Heliocentric, Rockfield and Mayfair Studios and produced by Beck collaborator Tony Hoffer, and appeared on the Parlophone labrel in the UK and on the Island Def Jam imprint in the U.S. It was not as commercially successful as the band's first three albums, failing to make the Top Three in the UK albums chart, but the critical response to the album was generally very positive, and it has since gone gold in the UK. 'Life On Other Planets' was also notable as it was the first Supergrass album to recognise Gaz's brother Rob Coombes as an official member, even though he had been playing with the band on and off since 1983, and some of their records were often credited to 'Supergrass and Rob Coombes'. Once the album had been released the band took another extended three-year break, devoting their time to touring and personal engagements, and in 2004 the band's record company suggested that they release a singles compilation, and so 'Supergrass Is 10' appeared later that year, spawning two new self-produced tracks: 'Kiss Of Life' and 'Bullet'. Recording of their fifth studio album, 'Road To Rouen', began in France in a studio built by the band in Normandy and it represented a significant change in direction for them, being perceived as a more mature body of work. The album was preceded by the single 'St. Petersburg' in August 2005, and the album followed a week later. Opinion at the time was divided, but the album garnered the band many new fans, and cracked the Top 10 of the UK album chart. 

The second single 'Low C' featured a video by acclaimed 'Pumping On Your Stereo' video director Garth Jennings, and third single 'Fin', which was interpreted as a missive to the Coombes brothers' recently deceased mother, received much critical praise. The follow-up album, 'Diamond Hoo Ha', was recorded in Berlin and mixed in Los Angeles in 2007, and before its release the band did a summer tour. On 27 September 2007, bassist Mick Quinn sustained a broken heel bone and two spinal fractures in a sleepwalking accident, when he sleepwalked out of a first floor window of the villa he was staying at in the South of France. During his recuperation, Coombes and Goffey promoted first single 'Diamond Hoo Ha Man' as the Diamond Hoo Ha Men, with a run of small club shows in December and January. In 2008, Parlophone was taken over by venture capitalist group, Terra Firma, and Supergrass ended their contract with the label, with the final single from the album, 'Rebel In You', being released under licence from Parlophone on the band's own imprint Supergrass Records. This final post features exclusive b-sides to the singles lifted from 'Life On Other Planets', which appeared in 2002 and 2003, plus the new songs from the 2004 compilation album, and we end with a live outing from the DVD edition of their 'Low C' single, plus the flip of that final single on their own label from 2008. As mentioned in some of the comments, I hope that this short series highlights what an under-rated band Supergrass were, with most casual listeners only knowing them for the 'Alright' single, but they had so much more to offer than just that song. 

Track listing

01 Velvetine (b-side of 'Grace' 2002)
02 Electric Cowboy (b-side of 'Grace' 2002)
03 Tishing In Windows (Kicking Down Doors) (b-side of 'Grace' 2002)
04 That Old Song (b-side of 'Grace' 2002)
05 The Loner (b-side of 'Seen The Light' 2003)
06 I Told The Truth (b-side of 'Seen The Light' 2003)
07 Everytime (b-side of 'Rush Hour Soul' 2003)
08 Kiss Of Life (single 2004)
09 We Dream Of This (b-side of 'Kiss Of Life' 2004)
10 Bullet (b-side of 'Kiss Of Life' 2004)
11 Lady Jane And John Coltrane (from 'Low C' DVD 2005)
12 Car Crash (b-side of 'Rebel In You' 2008)