REVIEW: Stereophonics, Performance and Cocktails (V2)
- Scott Slonaker
The sophomore record from Wales' biggest band is not likely to change any fortunes in America, but it has easy appeal to any Anglophile who's picked up on their dynamic, classic sound.
Stereophonics are somewhere musically between Oasis and the Manic Street Preachers, more thoughtful than the former and with less to say than the latter. Along with those two acts, they carry the arena-rock torch left behind by U2 on their field trip to the state of confusion.
The band's strengths are quite obvious, and plenty effective. Singer Kelly Jones has the best voice in British rock music today -- Liam Gallagher's soar, minus the annoying whine and plus a bluesy, shivery edge. As this might indicate, Stereophonics do ballads quite well. I count no less than six here -- none as luxurious and atmospheric as "Traffic," the centerpiece of Word Gets Around, but all solid enough. Perhaps the best is "Hurry Up and Wait," although "Just Looking" has charted high overseas. Most of the rest clog up the second half of the record, rendering it significantly less memorable than the first.
Even though this album doesn't have a true home run (gooooooal?) such as "Traffic," it is more consistent than its predecessor and contains a couple of good faster singles as well. The lyrically Kinks-ish "The Bartender and the Thief" and the effusive "Pick a Part That's New" show the band filling out its bag of tricks quite nicely. Next project: adding *memorable* strings and pianos and such without diluting anything. Ask the Manics.
Stereophonics are a young band who have yet to make their masterpiece -- but they're getting closer. Hopefully their massive overseas fanbase doesn't get in the way.
