DOWNING French red wine and tucking into some fine food appears to have agreed with Supergrass, who felt the need to escape from it all for a while.

So much so that they built their own studio from a converted barn near Normandy for their latest record.

Having produced some of the most joyously uplifting pop to come out of Britain in the last 10 years, you might think they would be on a high. But there’s an unexpected downbeat tone to their brooding yet rewarding LP, Road To Rouen which has been informed by a strong sense of loss.

"We knew what we didn’t want to do with the album and that was not more pop songs like Pumping On Your Stereo, we wanted to move on a bit," explained keyboard player Rob Coombes, elder brother of wild-maned Grass’ frontman Gaz Coombes.

"Our mother’s death nearly two years ago has influenced the music in the sense that we were in reflective mood, we didn’t want to write about being young and bouncing around."

But as he points out, Supergrass would not be Supergrass without a fun edge somewhere in the mix. Hence we are served up Coffee in the Pot - an achingly funny track in samba style which comes straight out of the blue.

After releasing their greatest hits album last year, fans had been kept in suspense as to whether it would prove their swansong. But there’s an admirable resilience there which has seen them hold on to their fans, of whom their are still many throughout the world.

Though Rob, who still lives in his native indie-haven of Oxford admits that he may not have always got on with his younger sibbling in their youth. Yet their common bond over music such as the likes of Hendrix and 70s rock brought them much closer together.

He missed out on the band’s first rush of success in 1994 with their blistering debut, I Should Coco, as he was busy studying for his astrophysics degree. This was soon put to rights as he joined them as an integral part of their touring unit.

"I watched them get together for the first album, they were all very excited and into it, I don’t think any of them thought the band would still be going 10 years on."

Six albums in their impressive list of hits including Alright, Mansize Rooster, Richard III, Moving and Grace has seen them firmly entrenched in the public’s affections.

As much as Rob, 33, enjoys playing with the lads, especially the many exotic places they have played, it appears that old passions die hard.

"I have not decided not to take up astrophysics again, it’s something I am still interested in, every time I see a probe lauched or hear of some landing it's great. I might have to go on a course and become an astronaught!"

On matters more terrestrial, he says the band have been working hard on preparing for their latest shows. This year has been a busy one for them including an acoustic-based tour of the UK this summer before their latest round of dates, which see them return to Kent.

"It’s going to be good, we haven’t had a full stops out electric tour for a while and it will be great to be redoing material we’ve been playing acoustically."

* Supergrass play Folkestone Leas Cliff Hall on Thursday, October 22 (tickets £16.50, box office 01303 228600).