World’s Strongest Man

For some, Gaz Coombes is just the mutton-chopped likely lad who peaked with Supergrass mega-single “Alright”. Those people are missing out. The trio were perhaps Britpop’s most underrated band (the mature, but commercially modest later releases deserve rediscovery) and their talisman’s solo career has continued to burnish a robust and quietly brilliant talent. World’s Strongest Man is Coombes’ most confident solo album yet—a satisfying coalition of Here Come the Bombs’ trippy chutzpah and Mercury Prize-nominated Matador’s melodic sure-footedness. Highlights abound (the Berlin electro shuffle of “Deep Pockets”; “In Waves” and its sinister groove), but this is a carefully layered record to play right through.