Supergrass are an English rock band from Oxford. The band consists of brothers Gaz (guitar and lead vocals) and Rob Coombes (keyboards), Danny Goffey (drums and backing vocals), and Mick Quinn (bass and backing vocals).
The band rose to prominence during the Britpop era in the mid-90s with their hit "Alright". The band's youthful image and music (two of the band members were still teenagers when the band formed) came as a contrast to the more serious bands such as Oasis, Blur and Suede. The band's main musical influences are Buzzcocks, T.Rex, the Jam and The Kinks. They combined these influences with traits of the pop-punk era, characterized by fast, three-chord, guitar-based, catchy tunes. On their own the band's jubilance and musicality have influenced many new artists as Arctic Monkeys, The Coral, The Fratellis, Kaiser Chiefs and The Vines. Troy Carpenter, co-director of Nude as the News describes the band as "a fun-loving rock group whose undeniable musical talent is sometimes overshadowed by the sheer ebullience of its music.
Their first albums I Should Coco (1995) and In It for the Money (1997) were a blend of British pop and pop punk, with only hinting their future musical growth. Their eponymous third Supergrass or the X-Ray Album (1999) was a new direction to darker lyrics, but again preserving the pop-sensibility. The band's fourth album Life on Other Planets (2002) was a retreat to the poppines of the early days, while still developing their sound. The band then released their first compilation of singles Supergrass is 10 (2004) commemorating their first decade as a band. Their fifth album Road to Rouen (2005) featured more orchestral and darker material than before, with many pointing as a reason the death of Coombes' mother. The band's sixth album Diamond Hoo Ha (2008) was another mature step forward toward glam rock, while retaining and developping the orchestrality and ebullience of previous work.
