SUPERGRASS

This sublimely silly English trio makes music that's heavenly to hear but difficult to describe. From its brilliantly buoyant 1995 debut, I Should Coco, to its somewhat somber sophomore effort, In It For The Money, to its newest release, Supergrass has made a career of hopping the fences that separate genres.

Supergrass' eclectic offerings have thus far won the group a spot in countless critics' hearts while still eluding mainstream success. It's unfortunate that more people haven't discovered this group's intelligent pop, which places Supergrass near the head of the class at the Michael Penn/Aimee Mann school of songwriting. On the beautifully disturbing "Your Love," Supergrass composes a symphonic masterpiece, and that's not symphonic in the Metallica-is-desperate-for new-ideas way. Rather, it's the type of baroque marriage of strings and guitars not seen on a rock record since Brian Wilson dreamed up Pet Sounds. The jangly, bittersweet Beatles-esque "Faraway" and the English pub soul twister "Mary" also rank among the album's highlights.

Supergrass represents the dwindling breed of artists who still take pride in every song and devote time to brainstorming to ensure that each track on each release delivers something fresh. Based on sales figures alone, groups such as Supergrass appear to be outright daft to even write and perform their own songs. However, in the unlikely scenario that undefinable, expertly crafted music suddenly becomes all the rage, Supergrass will be among the first, and most deserving, bands to reap the benefits.