Stereophonics - Graffiti On The Train MP3 FLAC

Nobody ever expected a two-part orchestral concept album and accompanying film from the Stereophonics. Nor, I imagine, would anybody expect such a thing to return them to the commercial spotlight they'd lost a few years before. And yet here we are, with the first part of that project, entitled 'Graffiti on the Train'. Yes, it's another unoriginal title, but much like 2009's Keep Calm and Carry On, it's worth investigating further.

I'm not entirely sure what the plot of the record is, although Kelly Jones is confident that it'll all make sense when the film comes out. Nevertheless, a key moment is a protagonist proposing to his girlfriend by means of graffiti on a train (didn't see that one coming eh), only to be hit by another train shortly afterwards. Yes, we're back in miserable Stereophonics territory. Thankfully the melodic sweep and soar the band had developed over the previous few records remains, meaning this is a deep, dramatic melancholy, rather than the grumpy, plodding miserablism the group are so often associated with.

Opener 'We Share the Same Sun' is reminiscent of the group's 1997 debut Word Gets Around, and that's high praise indeed. A strong, melodic indie rock number that sticks in the head, with an undercurrent of drama, it sets the album off on a high note. The aforementioned title track follows, draped in David Arnold's orchestration. It's tastefully done, and actually quite moving. This dramatic, orchestrated sound goes on to form the bulk of the album. Occasionally brass appears instead of strings, but it's largely sweeping, and consistently pretty. Jones allows his vocals to sit comfortably in the more delicate arrangements instead of employing his usual strained rock'n'roll grit. Only two pieces hark back to the blues rock of the band's commercial peak (and creative low point): dark rocker 'Catacombs', which is one of the more successful of its type, yet still a bit forced; and the thoroughly misguided acoustic blues of 'Been Caught Cheating', which veers into self-parody territory.

And yet these two don't do much damage to the album overall. For the most part, the arrangements are excellent, the songs are catchy and memorable (Jones's return to bigger melodies continues for most of the record), even the clunky lyrics are fewer and farther between than normal. It may have taken them fifteen whole years, but with Graffiti On the Train, Stereophonics have finally made a genuinely worthy follow-up to their fantastic debut album. Hopes are high for the second part of the story...