Golly, but Supergrass have had to work hard to shake off the sound of I Should Coco... and for their fifth album they've really let themselves go. And it works.

Opening with the Tales of Endurance triptych which manages a slack funk riot tempered by shards of rock, the brief-and-to-the-point album (it does its business in a mere 35 mins) spreads its tentacles far and wide. Arthur at work reckons Coffee in the Pot sounds like Cossack skiffle - though you'd better add a flavour of gypsy jazz, Dick Dale and the theme from the Edgar Wallace Mysteries as well. There's the velveteen drone of Roxy, the hymnal sculpture of Fin and the rustic strum of Low C; Sad Girl is all Walrus-era Beatles and Kick in the Teeth is a delicious sunshiney pop monster.

Nick Churchill