Tag Archives: supergrass

REAL GONE GOES OUT: Supergrass – Dreamland, Margate, Kent 20/6/2025

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It’s just before 9pm. Attracting one of the biggest crowds ever seen for a support slot at Dreamland, Jake Bugg has just delivered a fantastic set, and the venue’s DJ has just traded in the 90s bangers for a JJ Cale track. The subsequent arrival of ‘Whipping Post’ by The Allman Brothers Band lends the feeling that this is at the request of Supergrass mainman Gaz Coombes, keen to build a more retro atmosphere before his band takes the stage.

At 9pm sharp, the Allmans get cut off in their prime; the stage is bathed in red light and Sweet’s classic ‘Blockbuster’ provides a rousing intro tape for the arrival of four figures who are about to whip the audience into a frenzy. Or at least that’s the theory.

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GET THE FUCK OUTTA DODGE – These Songs Still Aren’t Ours

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Following a couple of DIY recordings, UK hardcore/noise punk duo Get The Fuck Outta Dodge turned their hand to the covers album. ‘These Songs Aren’t Ours’ brought an equal mix of punky chaos and fun when James (bass/shouting) and Ren (drums/more shouting) hammered their way through the expected (tunes by Black Flag, Misfits and Rollins Band), to the inspired (a fuzz heavy version of The Cure’s ‘Screw’) to the joyous and bizarre (hardcore reworkings of tunes by the oft forgotten Whale and 80s pop stars Fuzzbox). It showed why a covers album need not be lazy or uninspired. After what felt like about thirty six hours, the never resting duo returned with a new EP, proving their minimalist hardcore had a lot more to give, before ending the year with another full-length. At the point you’d expect their drums/bass/shouting approach to be wearing thin, ‘Buzzkill’ actually presented GTFOD at their most visceral on one of the best releases of 2020.

Four months later, the duo released a second onslaught of cover tunes, ‘These Songs Still Aren’t Ours’, which very much follows the same pattern as their first covers release. Nothing is off limits; everything is subjected to a barrage of distortion, and as before, their choice of material is both classic and off-piste. With twenty two tracks filling a strictly limited cassette, it really gives fans a lot to enjoy.

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THE JACQUES – Artful Dodger EP

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the jacquesOn their second EP, Bristol four-piece The Jacques display a carefree style on three numbers pulling the best elements from sixties beat music, seventies mod revival and nineties Britpop, often in a manner that reflects the youthful energy on the much-loved Supergrass debut ‘I Should Coco’.  Any comparisons with that LP can be directly drawn from ‘This Is England’, a three minute high speed jangle that has a punky edge to the guitar work which sometimes shows glimmers of a Buzzcocks-ish style colliding with the kind of vigour that was so oft-present within Gaz Coombes’s overall approach.  It’s clear from this particular number that we’re dealing with a particularly tight unit, it’s just a shame the band couldn’t hire themselves a vocalist.  Finn O’Brien yelps through this number much in the manner of a pre-pubescent lad, his high pitched delivery akin to Alex Turner with a helium balloon threatening to kill any enjoyment at almost every turn.

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