Supagroup

Reviewed by:
David Peisner

“I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth,” Chris Lee sings over aggressive power chords and a spare, jumpy beat on “Rock ’N Roll Tried to Ruin My Life,” opening the second studio album from the New Orleans quartet Supagroup. It’s a bold move, introducing your album by quoting a classic rock chestnut like the Who’s “Substitute,” but it makes sense. Supagroup know they owe a heavy debt to their rock forefathers, so why not come right out and admit it? Bluesy, riff-heavy stomps like “One Better” and “Rock and Roll Star” show their influences lean more toward AC/DC and Thin Lizzy than the Who, and as such, they channel the willful and wanton stupidity that’s too often missing in the self-serious sounds of retro rockers like Oasis and the Black Crowes. Beneath the bluster and the double-live-gonzo guitar licks, there’s nothing too extraordinary about these songs. But the fact that Supagroup play them like they are makes all the difference.

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