REVIEW: Stereophonics, "Local Boy in the Photograph" (V2)
- Tim Mohr
The explosion of Welsh bands continues with the Stereophonics, whose brand of brash guitars, up-speed tempos, and rasping vocals are without a doubt influenced by the most famous of Welsh bands, the Manic Street Preachers. The comparisons end there, however, for while some would complain about the Freddie Mercury quality to vocal lines of the Manic Street Preachers, Stereophonics lean, predictably, towards Liam Gallagher.
There is one more important thing to say about Stereophonics: with "Local Boy," they have written one of the best singles of the year, a perfect combination of heart-breaking lyrics and loud guitars that keep the song from dipping into bathos. Not to mention the fantastic b-side, "Buy Myself a Small Plane."
Smalltown life atop driving guitars: "Something blocks the line again and the train runs late for the first time. Pebble beach, we're underneath a pier just been painted red, where we heard the news for the first time. And all the friends lay down the flowers, sit on the bank and drink for hours, talk of the way they saw him last...local boy in the photograph today."
The music is full but sticks to the basic rock combination of guitar-bass-drums and eschews frills that must have tempted the producer given the lyrical content.
Stereophonics have an amazing gift for saying so much by actually leaving many things unstated. Perhaps a cliche, but a lyricist who can actually write this way shows how effective the technique can be. Right or wrong, had "Local Boy" gone 'My buddy got hit by a train, waah, waah' it would have elicited only yawns.
This rare quality is also evident on the b-side: "I'm gonna buy myself a small plane, I'm gonna crash it on the South Lawn...just big enough for me." In context, the song seems a cry of frustration about the way President Clinton managed to start as a candidate from the left-of-center and then shift to the right in what then became the model for Tony Blair and New Labour. The freight truck driver in the lyrics, part of the working-class backbone of the old Democratic constituency, seems unable to gain the attention of the top Democrat except by landing on the White House grounds.
The obtuse but incisive manner in which Stereophonics approach their subject matter is unmatched by any current band.
Stereophonic's Word Gets Around full length is slated to be released in the United States on October 28.
