Supercar's studio work has always seemed to alternate between ambitious and absurdly overblown albums like debut
Three Out Change and third album,
Futurama, and more concise, focused efforts such as 1999's
Jump Up and 2002's Highvision. Within the band's oeuvre the former type seems to function as a forum for experimentation in new musical concepts which are then tightened up in the following album. Following that system,
Supercar's fifth album,
Answer, (discounting outtake compilations Ooyeah and
Ookeah, both released in 1999) should run for at least an hour and are a huge leap forward in style from its predecessor Highvision. Actually clocking in at just short of 60 minutes,
Answer nevertheless pushes the
Supercar sound further than any previous album, from the tribal beats of opening track "Free Hand" (assisted by members of Chicago Bass) to the skittering electronics of "The World if Naked" (embellished with the electric violin of Rovo's Katsui Yuji) that recalls
Radiohead's work on
Kid A. The eight-minute "Siren" mixes jazz and progressive rock and builds to a powerful climax, encapsulating the dark, weary mood of the album perfectly. Elsewhere, however, that weariness, most apparent in
Koji Nakamura's vocals, overwhelms the vibrancy of the experimentation and songs like the single "Recreation" feel like tired re-runs of the band's previous hits.
Answer is undoubtedly a worthwhile album, but lacking the exuberant rush of
Three Out Change or
Futurama, it has the feeling of a band at the end of the road. ~ Ian Martin