Supersystem (formerly El Guapo on Dischord Records) storms into the Touch and Go stable in 2005 with Always Never Again, its first full-length in two years. With the help of a new drummer Josh Blair, the man with the blurry arms behind the Ipecac duo Orthrelm, the NY/DC quartet has been in the lab with a pen and a pad perfecting its unique fusion of Ethiopiques worldbeat, post-Kraftwerk synth pop, and brash Pixies attitude. Virtuoso guitarist Rafael Cohen and keyboardist Pete Cafarella provide the production know how; the man known only as Destroyer brings the onstage rants and thundering bass to compliment Blair's crack rhythms. Voila! It's rock, it's pop, it's dance...it's whatever you want it to be.
www.explodingplastic.com; May 14, 2005
'...If you never heard Supersystem’s former incarnation, El Guapo, don’t worry - you didn’t miss too much. The NY/DC quartet was sort of a free-jazz/trance group, and never really “hit on” anything. However, after two releases under the El Guapo moniker, the band changed its name to Supersystem, and now barely resembles its former self. Supersystem blends pop, dance, punk, and hip hop all into one [sometimes] convoluted mess. Although their sound is quite unique, and certainly very fun and energetic, it is quite obvious that the band is “in transition,” and it has not yet found itself. It is only by the second half of the album that the band gets into a groove, and shows us all what they want to sound like...' [Nik Mercer]