Superbus

Aeromusical (Mercury, France)
by Michael McCarthy

It might be impossible to classify France’s Superbus, but their debut album, Aeromusical (Mercury, France), is one of the most infectious discs I’ve heard in ages. Seriously, you could have some heated arguments over the genre of this group, which seems to range from emo to ska to pop to punk, and it’s clearly their wide array of influences that makes them so irresistible. “Je Reste Encore” reminds me of No Doubt’s “Spiderwebs” (like Gwen Stefani, Jennifer Ayache, le voix de Superbus, can sound assertive one minute and sweet as sugar the next), “Superstar” reminds me of Blink 182’s “All the Small Things” (the melodies of the two are strikingly similar), “Tchi-cum-Bah” reminds me of later day Sublime (just the general vibe), and the title track reminds me of early Nirvana (for the raw, crunchy guitars)… only I generally like Superbus’ songs more than those by the artists I’m comparing them to. And taking something that’s already out there and re-creating it to make it their own seems to be their gift, as evidenced on their superb, punked-out cover of Madonna’s “Into the Groove.” Super, indeed (www.superbus.com.fr).