Gaz Coombes - MATADOR

Following on from 2012’s well-received Here Come The Bombs, this is the second solo album from former Supergrass frontman Gaz Coombes. While Supergrass might have been the (tongue in) cheekiest of the Britpop acts, here he’s sounding older, wiser and a lot more reflective. As he sings on electro album opener ‘Buffalo’, “I lost my way... but I found the only road.”
It’s very much a solo affair. Self-produced and recorded in Coombes’ home studio and at Courtyard Studios in Oxfordshire, he played virtually all the instruments on these eleven songs himself (Loz Colbert plays drums on four tracks).
The mood on Matador isn’t a million miles from that of fellow former Britpopper Damon Albarn’s Everyday Robots. Although the sound is diverse – from buzzing synths and drum loops to lush orchestral moments and gospel harmonies – there’s a strong sense of middle-aged melancholia throughout. On the anguished ‘20/20’ he sings, “It’s alright, the end’s in sight/ Worry fades the soul away/ I’ll take the hurricane for you.”
Opening with the declaration, “I’m in league with the humans,” the pulsing and urgent ‘The English Ruse’ sounds like the soundtrack to a sci-fi movie chase scene. ‘Detroit’ sees him plaintively addressing his decadent rock ‘n’ roll past: “Ooh, what a strange old time/The powder and the lies/ Well the mind is shot and the body’s fried.”
It’s all a very far cry from the wild teenage kicks of ‘Alright’ and ‘Caught By The Fuzz’, but the grown-up Gaz Coombes is a creative force to be reckoned with.

Key Track - '20/20'