Album Review
Gaz Coombes - Matador
4 StarsAn evolution that’s worth celebrating.
Even those too young to experience it fresh and first hand will forever picture Gaz Coombes as the guy with the sideburns, sat in the middle of the bed with his Supergrass band mates, in the video for ‘Alright’. Even now, twenty years on and firmly in his late thirties, it’s near impossible to ever imagine him any other way - but perhaps ‘Matador’ is the record where things finally change. The jaunty, energetic hints of Britpop cast aside, this is Gaz Coombes the adult man, writing adult songs, and they’re really rather great.
The hazy, spacey ‘Seven Walls’, the layered, organic glitches of ‘Oscillate’ and ‘To The Wire’ - there’s a texture that at times echoes that other legendary Oxford band. ‘The English Ruse’ moves with the speed of one of Win Butler’s runaway trains, but at no point does ‘Matador’ feel anything other than completely natural. Instead, it’s maturity bringing new twists and ideas to the fore. Stand-out ‘The Girl That Fell To Earth’ is a song that feels like Coombes could have delivered it at any point in the past two decades, but by leaving it until now it’s allowed to breathe. Confidence without bravado, an analogue man refusing to succumb to the throw away values of a digital age - it’s an evolution that’s worth celebrating.
Read More
Gaz Coombes - Turn The Car Around
4-5 Stars
Yet further proof that there’s true treasure to be found in these parts.
13th January 2023, 12:00am
Gaz Coombes announces UK and European tour
His new solo album, ‘Turn The Car Around’, is out next year.
7th November 2022, 9:40pm
Gaz Coombes & Danny Goffey’s The Hotrats reveal homemade video for new cover of Kelis’ ‘Milkshake’
The Supergrass duo share the visuals created by Gaz under lockdown.
17th April 2020, 12:00am
“I’m fully expecting there to be a bit of fisticuffs” - Gaz Coombes talks judging the 2019 Hyundai Mercury Prize
After being shortlisted himself with Supergrass, Gaz tells us what it's like to be on the other side.
25th July 2019, 12:00am
With Bob Vylan, St Vincent, girl in red, Lizzy McAlpine and more.