Having previously heard only Just Enough Education To Perform from the Stereophonics, I was thrilled to receive my latest package in the mail. Here I was thinking I would be in for a treat to remember! Boy was I wrong! I can’t remember a time that I have listened to an album and had no idea what to think. Some tracks I liked and they intrigued me, think Brother with its very Red Hot Chilli Pepper-like intro. Yet others, well, they stumped me.

Frontman Kelly Jones has produced a U2-sounding album with the distinct Stereophonics touch. From the start, we are thrown right into the longest track Superman. A very dramatic feel to it, you can just hear the screams of “Soundtrack! Soundtrack!” It would certainly make me stop and check out what movie it was promoting. Despite this, it’s the start of a very monotonous and sometimes tiresome forty-five minutes.

Ever been at a gig where you are treated like crap by door staff? Security provoke trouble so they have something to do that makes them feel big and strong, the person who stamps your arm thinks they are God’s gift to human-kind, and who can forget the guest list police who just think they are God? Well Doorman is a well justified and angry attack at these very people, some of which may have been working at a Super Furry Animals gig somewhere in Seattle if you read the cover close enough.

And quoting Pete Cashmore at NME.com “Brother is more concerned with making an impressive noise and not concerned enough with a tune.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. Then there is Devil, an extremely provocative and somewhat aggressive tune that is probably the best on the album. 

“So be my Devil, Angel,
Be my shooting star…
So what’s the point then lady?
Oh no… If ya can’t stand to play and lose.”

Dakota, a track of love lost for unknown reasons left me feeling like no point was actually made, without any climax. This didn’t stop is topping the charts in the UK. While Rewind, although is not particularly appealing musically, lyrically it was fantastic!

“Do you like you?
Do you love your wife?
Or did you pick what you’re told was right?
If Jesus rode in on a camel today with your cross on his shoulder Time to take you away
Have you done all you wanted?”

Pedalpusher is more than sarcastic with its mocking lyrics and creepy, sleazy baseline, which is actually fantastically sexy and Girl is all out rock that sees revenge as the precursor. One of the shorter tracks on the album, Lolita, is crammed full of artistic emotion however dull it may be.  That said, you can feel the pain of loving and losing, as may be the case here.

Deadhead is a little mysterious in the sense that the lyrics are very unclear. From “I got a royal flush I gotta ten bob” to “Sleeping on a shag pile, Sleeping on me, Sleeping like an angel watching over me” you really just need to take it into your own hands and come up with your own interpretation. And as for Feel, the last track, it was simply uninteresting. Whiny and needlessly noisy, it didn’t fit in with the tone of the album.

There’s no Mr Writer or Have A Nice Day, but I did find it relatively captivating on certain levels. The artwork is both contemporary and shows depictions of sex-fuelled rock and the music is something I reckon I could get used to after a few more listens. Not their best work, but I’d give the band another go.