The new one from The Supernaturals sort of snuck up on me. Without a lot of fanfare, or online hype for that matter, Bird of Luck dropped yesterday. Available via CDBaby.com in the States, the album is an expansion of what we heard on the excellent 360 from 2015. The tunes here are lush and that, but they are evidence of a band who've grown. And while usually that is a way to say that a band's gotten boring, that's not at all what I mean here, because The Supernaturals have always had the hooks, but know they've got depth.
"At This Time of Year" pops like something from The Turtles, while the quietly-anthemic "Negativity" is as affecting as "I Wasn't Built To Get Up" or "Smile" from decades ago, only just more down-tempo. "Well Well Well" isn't a cover of the John Lennon song but it sure sounds like a Lennon song, you know what I mean? It's downright lush, and a distant cousin to "Glimpse of the Light" for those long-term fans out there. Elsewhere, "Magpie" is like the best Kinks song Davies never got around to writing. I mean, sure, it's got the sort of big hook that one could even trace to "And Your Bird Can Sing"-era Beatles, but it is, like so many of the best songs here on Bird of Luck, evidence that this band's songwriting owes debts to Ray Davies, especially so for the happy/sad-kind of dynamic at work on so many tunes on this album.
And if Bird of Luck is more mellow than previous Supernaturals records, stuff like "Chill Pill", for example, suggests that the band have been looking farther afield for inspiration than just the sort of power pop that fueled the first two perfect Supernaturals albums. James McColl and crew are taking some real chances here, and they mostly pay off. I mean, "Summer Girl" is elegant, and an indication that a band who rose to fame for tunes that were largely bright and punchy is capable of making music that's more deliberate and considered. That the tune cribs from "Something" doesn't hurt too much either. It's on the stunning "Country" where things all come together this time around. The song celebrates the band's home of Scotland while using love of country as a metaphor for love for a partner. And while that sounds awkward on paper, it works spectacularly here, with the cut one of the best the band's ever recorded. Concise and clever, and built upon a chord structure that suggests Bacharach and Wilson, and maybe even McCartney, "Country" is a reminder of just what a spectacularly talented lot The Supernaturals are and remain.
Bird of Luck is out now and you can get the CD via Amazon.co.uk, or CDBaby.com here in the States.
More details on The Supernaturals via the official Facebook page. And this link is one of many from another fine site with a real love for The Supernaturals.
[Photo: The Supernaturals Facebook page]