EX-SUPERGRASS lead singer, Gaz Coombes, releases his second solo long player, drawing heavily on his now predictable influences. The Beatles, Bowie, The Kinks, T-Rex, Lennon and The Jam, they're all in there somewhere, fighting their way out via the Oxford-based Coombes vibrant musical mix.

Single ' The Girl Who Fell to Earth' is pure Marc Bolan and stand out track 'Detroit' doesn't stray far from the T-Rex vibe. '20/20' could have been written by Paul McCartney circa The Beatles 'Revolver' period and is a melancholy beauty. That said Coombes has made a conscious effort to move away from his traditional Supergrass sound elsewhere on the record. 'Seven Walls' nods towards early 80's New Romantic, cold, atmospheric Electronica, before exploding into a passionate wall of sound. Indeed it is the slower tracks that stand out, Coombes bittersweet harmonies on tracks such as 'Oscillate' and 'To the Wire' work perfectly and no song hangs around long enough to irritate.

Coombes has had an uncanny knack of penning unbelievably catchy tunes over the past 20 years and this is plainly evident again in this collection. The difference is that these songs are much more subtle than previous 'in your face' Supergrass work and it is not until the 4th or 5th listen that the true worth of tracks like 'Needles Eye' really start to hit home.

Matador is a little pop music gem which will doubtless not get the exposure and credit that it and the wonderful Gaz Coombes, rightly deserves.

By Mike Marson