Supergrass "Sofa (Of My Lethargy)" - Record Store Day 2015 single

On Record Store Day 2015, the Parlophone label issued a 7-inch single (pressed in pine-green vinyl) consisting of two songs recorded by Supergrass in 1994, when the now-defunct Britpop band’s 1995 debut album I Should Coco was made. The single was limited to 500 copies. These two tracks previously appeared on a radio promo CD in 1995.

The A-side track is a radio edit of “Sofa (Of My Lethargy)”, the most sophisticated song on the I Should Coco album. The album version of that song runs over six minutes; this radio edit comes in just under four minutes, with the long instrumental coda clipped off the end to make it radio-friendly. The intricately Beatlesque song resembles what “Norwegian Wood” might have sounded like if the Fab Four had recorded it for either the Sgt. Pepper or Abbey Road album instead of Rubber Soul. Hearing it on vinyl makes it even more reminiscent of the pre-digital music era.

The B-side, “I Believe In Love”, is an unfinished outtake from the I Should Coco sessions. There is a conspicuous absence of post-production that would have given the song a fuller Britpop sound. Without that type of splendor, the song actually sounds like a melodic new wave tune that could have been recorded 15 years earlier. (That might say something about these two genres in general, eh?). If I didn’t know better, this song might have made me think that an old obscure 45 from that earlier genre and time period was spinning on my turntable. Charming.


Supergrass - Sofa (Of My Lethargy)

Supergrass "Sofa (Of My Lethargy)" b/w “I Believe In Love” (Parlophone single 0825646153848) 2015

Track Listing:

a. Sofa (Of My Lethargy) – Radio Edit (3:55)
b. I Believe In Love – Unfinished Out-Take (4:27)

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