Stereophonics: Keep Calm and Carry On
Stereophonics: Keep Calm and Carry On
Monday, 16, Nov 2009 11:11
Mercury Records, out November 16th.
What's it all about?
Wanting to 'raise the bar', Keep Calm and Carry On is 45 minutes of narrative song writing that changes from 50s inspired rock 'n' roll to summertime melodies in the blink of an eye.
Who's it by?
Stereophonics currently have a line up of four members, founded by Kelly Jones on guitar, original bass player Richard Jones, and joined by Javier Weyler on drums (since 2004) and more recently, Adam Zindani on guitar.
Hailing from Wales, the band have enjoyed reams of commercial success in the past with Dakota providing a number #1 hit in 2005.
As an example...
"What's done is done/Walk on my son/Never let this world/Drag you down."
What the others say
"Trouble is a powerpop blast and the Motown thump of Innocent shows Jones once again obsessing over small-town nostalgia." - Graeme Thomson, Observer
"Musically it's as solid as you'd expect." - Will Dean, BBC.co.uk
So is it any good?
One thing that has always made the Stereophonics stand out is their ability to switch to any style of music, and they frequently do so in this seventh studio effort. With such a distinct vocal track scraping its way from fron man Kelly Jones you have to congratulate the 'Phonics on breaking out so far into the mainstream, and not falling into the trap of being 'just another rock band'.
Keep Calm and Carry On provides a fantastic blend of musical styles, with each track standing out, but it is unfortunate that this also proves to be the album's undoing. There are no tracks that jump out and grab you, whereas past albums have all had a running theme and anthemic, charged singles like Dakota, or even way back to debut album Word Gets Around's Local Boy in the Photograph.
As a collection the album does a great job of proving that the Stereophonics still have what it takes when it comes to writing great songs, and I'm sure this will keep their fanbase going until the next number one single, which we know is coming; it's just a case of 'not now'.
7/10
Ben Brady