Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.This latest instalment in Stereophonics' chequered career is a bit one step forward, two steps back. Having dispensed with the services of the drummer Stuart Cable, Kelly and Richard Jones have also opted to abandon the direction pursued on 2003's You Gotta Go There to Come Back - which is a pity, as that album's Rolling Stones/Black Crowes leanings displayed a new side to the band that proved more attractive to those who, like me, had been previously left unmoved by them. For this follow-up, they decided to revert to the more direct, basic style of their earlier albums, polishing their raw rock riffs with the fund of studio smarts they'd built up over their career. The directness is signalled in the one-word track-titles - "Girl", "Devil", "Brother", "Lolita", etc - while the studio sophistication makes itself felt in devices such as the arpeggiated guitar chops that give "Rewind" its U2-esque manner, and the way that the modulating two-note piano figure of "Devil" is gradually swollen with a
This latest instalment in Stereophonics' chequered career is a bit one step forward, two steps back. Having dispensed with the services of the drummer Stuart Cable, Kelly and Richard Jones have also opted to abandon the direction pursued on 2003's You Gotta Go There to Come Back - which is a pity, as that album's Rolling Stones/Black Crowes leanings displayed a new side to the band that proved more attractive to those who, like me, had been previously left unmoved by them. For this follow-up, they decided to revert to the more direct, basic style of their earlier albums, polishing their raw rock riffs with the fund of studio smarts they'd built up over their career. The directness is signalled in the one-word track-titles - "Girl", "Devil", "Brother", "Lolita", etc - while the studio sophistication makes itself felt in devices such as the arpeggiated guitar chops that give "Rewind" its U2-esque manner, and the way that the modulating two-note piano figure of "Devil" is gradually swollen with a humming guitar clangour. But the general musical tone (not to mention the perfunctory lyrics...) is much more meat-and-spuds than before, and fails to hold one's attention much beyond the halfway point.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments