Supergrass - In It For The Money

Prior to the release of Supergrass' second album in 1997, it seemed that they were almost a novelty act with upbeat perky tunes.  However In It For The Money showed a band who had grown hairs on their chest and were prepared to rock, and rock hard.  After the brief title track which introduces the album the cobwebs are obliterated by the hard-riffing Richard III, which is almost like Nirvana in comparison to earlier tunes such as Caught By The Fuzz or Alright.

From here on the album settles into a rocky groove with tracks like Tonight, G-Song and Going Out which are built around a steadily repeated riff.  Late In The Day starts off acoustic but builds to a soaring electric guitar solo at its climax, the aural equivalent of the sun rising over the hills.  Sun Hits The Sky is another hard riffer with some superb guitar work by singer Gaz Coombes.  Some of the latter tracks could be classed as filler - It's Not Me, Cheapskate, Hollow Little Reign.  You Can See Me is a late highlight, opening with a pulsing keyboard it builds to a barnstorming track.  But overall on this album, they sound like a proper 'rock' band, who CAN be taken seriously.  One of the better 'Britpop' era releases.