I don’t do this writing malarkey anymore…but after the busiest working day ever and with not having enough time in the day to head back up the road for the SAMA’s tonight 😭 – a quiet Friday night here we are.
The reason why I’ve put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard ) for the first time in a while can be predicted with relative ease – What albums came out today? Erm I wonder?
This year has actually been the first time in forever I didn’t want Stereophonics to stick to their traditional biennial album release. That trend has only been broken once in 22 years (the 4 years between Keep Calm and Carry On and Graffiti on the Train if you were wondering) Yeah a lot of people won’t be able to believe that those words just came out my mouth.
Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve seen the band 3 times in the last 2 years, not including Kelly’s joyous solo show in Glasgow back at the start of June or the fact that Scream Above the Sounds didn’t set the world alight for me. They just seemed a little bit tired and in need of a break.
I was wrong – very wrong.
The build up to this album was actually pretty tame in comparison to others. No songs released during the festival period (the fact they barely played any festivals this year is probably the reason) and only 2 singles out before the week prior to release.
This is actually the most sceptical I’ve ever been about a Phonics release. As well as the reasons I mentioned earlier, I got really mixed signals from the opening 2 singles. I’ve got so much love for “Fly Like an Eagle” One of the most beautiful songs Kelly has ever written.
“Bust This Town” on the other hand left me feeling really underwhelmed. Kelly has sometimes been criticised over the past decade for “simple songwriting” and for producing songs that were under par. I had never agreed with this statement in the slightest – well maybe apart from “All In One Night” – until the release of this song. I just didn’t feel it at all, the chorus didn’t seem to go anywhere. Consider me worried.
Could one of my favourite bands of all time be about to bring out a dud album? Nah of course not.
4 days before the release of the full album and I’m sitting in the CFM Studio in Carlisle when I notice that “Don’t Let The Devil Take Another Day” – the title of Kelly’s solo tour earlier this summer – had been given its first play. Sounding like it’s been taken straight off “You Gotta Go There To Come Back”, this is one of Kelly’s best vocal performances of recent times. A song that nods to the fact that this is the most personal Phonics album ever. Mature, inspirational and moving.
Kelly has said that this album very nearly didn’t come out because it was almost “too personal” In fact it was recorded very quickly this summer, 11 days is all it took. 11 days to record an album is the music equivalent of cooking your tea in the microwave. Dead fast.
The first thing you notice is how stripped back the record is – “Restless Mind” sounds like it belongs on Springsteen’s Nebraska. That harmonica came out of fucking nowhere. “Stitches” and “Street of Orange Light” follow in the same vein. I’ve never really seen anything like this before on a Stereophonics record.
I was sceptical leading up to it – I’ve said it 100 times, but there was a glimmer of hope.
29th June 2018, Glasgow Green. The warm Glasgow evening sunshine. Opening day of TRNSMT. “Hungover for You” – the song that will forever be known as the song he wrote in a Glasgow hotel room and then decide to premier during a headline set just hours later. I remember standing in the crowd that night. “You don’t love me, You don’t love me, You don’t love me no more” That hook, so simple but yet so effective. This was the song I was waiting to hear from this record. Probably my favourite.
There’s everything on this album – a stripped back, pouring out of the soul…But then it opens with “I Just Wanted the Goods” Despite how good it is, It almost doesn’t fit the album. It’s a blues-filled jam session of a song. Catchy drums and hook. The foot stomping song of the record, which is why it stands out a bit.
Then there’s “This Life Ain’t Easy” – I honestly thought it was “Traffic” when it started playing. That slow, solo rhythm guitar. It’s also reminiscent of “Before Anyone Knew our Name” from the last record in places. An emotional outpouring. And a song that is incredibly relatable
“This Life Ain’t Easy….but it’s the one we’ve all got”
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by this record. I feel ashamed for even doubting it. WGAPAC’s (Word Gets Around Performance And Cocktails folk) That isn’t a term widely used – literally just something that I’ve made up right now – I urge you to listen to this. There’s many people that believe that they sold out when they brought out JEEP and never returned to their “honest” songwriting from the first two albums. This is mature songwriting and has themes from the first two albums.
If I was now to list my favourite albums from the lads, Kind wound probably make the top 5.
5/11 is good going.
Cheers
RB x
Ryan Borthwick 