Superthriller – Superthriller 2: The Return

Superthriller’s last long-form release, The Blank Album, was exactly that: a CD-r empty save a Word document containing a code, allowing the purchaser to access a section of the London trio’s website chock-full of tracks to be burnt in any combination onto the disc. By the band’s own cheerful admission, the idea went down “like a pork chop at a Jewish wedding”. Praise be, then, that Superthriller 2: The Return, the second “proper” album from art-leaning brothers Max and Ben Ringham and old mate Andrew Roland, isn’t quite so self-consciously interactive. What it is, though, is a text-book example of “right place, wrong time”. In the two short years since debut single ‘Ahjustwannadance’ tore up discerning dance floors across the UK, Superthriller’s only true rivals in the geekazoid race to perfect the bewildering Prince/Elton John/Iggy Pop/John Lennon/Sly Stone template – Hot Chip – have upped their game to such a degree that all bets are arguably off. Pity, because ‘Superthriller 2’ has its fair share of charms: opening track ‘Hairdresser’ and imminent single ‘Superthriller Motherfucker’ are witty, irresistibly funky beasts, and ‘The Duality Of Man’ (sample lyric: “You’re a coke-assed bitch motherfucker/But I love you just the same”) shows they can nail playful balladry too. File next to The Warning and curse that demon time.

Charlie Ivens