Post by Maximo Mark on Mar 23, 2005 21:23:53 GMT 1
Album: Stereophonics - Language.Sex.Violence.Other.
1, Superman. The track starts with around 15 seconds of random noise before the music kicks in. As soon as you hear the first two low notes of the song you know you are in for a treat and it’s going to be a good song. Unfortunately on this song the Kelly’s vocals do not match the music being played. The chorus is rather short with just two lines “You don’t know what it’s been like / Meeting someone like you” However; this is repeated over and over again and really shows off the strength of Kelly’s vocals, a great start to the album. Rating: 4/5
2, Doorman. Much heavier and rockier than Superman. The vocal kicks in straight away with heavy up-tempo drumming in the background. Once again Kelly’s vocals are at their very best on this track, they are very loud though and sometimes you may say he’s shouting rather than singing. The guitar riff towards the end is absolutely superb and really makes you feel the song. Like Superman, it has a very short chorus repeated lots, you don’t find it repetitive though. . This track is easily one of the best on the album and most definitely the heaviest. Some will be put off by it, others won’t. Rating: 5/5
3, Brother. You get into this song almost straight away. The intro is rather amazing. Kelly’s vocals do sound quite distorted throughout the track, not dissimilar to anything by the Bravery. The chorus in this song is infectious. “You Walk Right Up To Me / Abuse Me On The Street / Like A Cannonball Killing Me.” Pure class. Once again, the song isn’t a letdown and you can see how far they have come since the poor effort of You Gotta Go There To Come Back. Rating: 5/5
4, Devil. The intro to this song is once again terrific. You can feel the song getting more and more up-tempo as you go towards the chorus. The chorus is once again, infectious. Very noisy, both with the instruments and vocals. The song goes back down to its slower tempo until the chorus. The chorus is by far the best part of this song. Each and every time I hear this I feel it isn’t long enough and could go on for ages, but at well over 4 minutes in length, actually isn’t. By FAR the best track on the album! Rating: 5/5
5, Dakota. The track that everyone already knows and loves. The song which seems to have won them new fans. So far, it is by far the quietest song on the album, but then after the first four tracks, a slower track is due. The chorus of this song does seem more and more repetitive every time you listen but just somehow never gets boring. The song isn’t as strong as some of the others on the album but if this was put on either JEEP or YGGTTCB it would easily have been the best song on the album, this just shows how much of an improvement they have made over the past 18 months. Rating: 4.5/5
6, Rewind. You can tell from the first time Kelly sings on this that this is going to be one of the slowest songs on the album, which it is, but unlike previous albums where the slower tracks have been the worst; this is an improvement on all the previous songs apart from Devil. Some of the lyrics really make you get into the song, such as “‘Cause Change Is Okay / what’s The Point of Being The Same”. The backing vocals on the track really are something to listen to closely. They really make Kelly’s vocals stand out on this track, his voice may sound slightly groanier than on other tracks but in all honesty it actually makes the track better. Along with Devil it really is a standout track on the album. I really can’t praise this song enough. Rating: 5/5
7, Pedalpusher. This song is slightly more up-tempo than the previous song, Rewind. A repetitive drum and guitar key throughout apart from when the chorus is just about to begin is perfect. It never gets boring at any point. Not as good as most of the songs on the album, this would probably fit JEEP quite well. Rating 3.5/5
8, Girl. Yet another song where the tempo gets slightly faster but doesn’t quite reach the heights of Devil or Doorman. Despite this being a more up-tempo song it kind of passes by and isn’t very memorable apart from the chorus “Girl You Got Me Going / Don’t You Want to Fly”. Although coming in at 1 minute 59 seconds long, it’s not going to be the most memorable song ever written. Rating: 3/5
9, Lolita: Shares the same name as Kelly’s daughter, Lolita is another slower song, but as with Rewind, is a very memorable one. The way the three of them work together on this song is very impressive and the chorus is one of the best I have ever heard. The way Kelly sings Lolita is amazing and makes you fall in love with the song. He drags it out for quite a while as “L-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-Lolita”. As with Rewind, this is a slower song which doesn’t bore you to death as their previous material has. Rating: 5/5
10, Deadhead. Back to a more up-tempo song again. Although Deadhead is nowhere near as good or impressive as the other up-tempo songs on the album. However, the chorus makes the song sound better than it actually is. The chorus is uplifting and catchy, definitely one to sing along to. Rating: 3.5/5
11, Feel. Feel is a perfect song to end the album, the slowest song on the album. Lots of lyrics for Kelly to sing on this compared to most others on the album. This would have been a perfect track to have been put on YGGTTCB and would have dramatically improved the album. Rating: 4/5
Overall: A very good album which sees the trio back to their best, and most definitely one of, if not, THE best album to be released in the last 2-3 years. In terms of quality it surpasses the last two albums by miles. Javier Weyler seems to be the perfect replacement on the drums for Stuart Cable. Unfortunately I don’t think they will ever beat the genius album which was their first one, Word Gets Around. Kelly’s voice is suited to all of the songs; the singing does seem groany at points but at the same time is still excellent. If you like Dakota and are thinking of getting the album on the strength of it then do so, you will not be disappointed. Rating: 4.5/5
Tracks in order of quality:
1, Devil
2, Rewind
3, Lolita
4, Doorman
5, Brother
6, Dakota
7, Superman
8, Feel
9, Deadhead
10, Pedalpusher
11, Girl
1, Superman. The track starts with around 15 seconds of random noise before the music kicks in. As soon as you hear the first two low notes of the song you know you are in for a treat and it’s going to be a good song. Unfortunately on this song the Kelly’s vocals do not match the music being played. The chorus is rather short with just two lines “You don’t know what it’s been like / Meeting someone like you” However; this is repeated over and over again and really shows off the strength of Kelly’s vocals, a great start to the album. Rating: 4/5
2, Doorman. Much heavier and rockier than Superman. The vocal kicks in straight away with heavy up-tempo drumming in the background. Once again Kelly’s vocals are at their very best on this track, they are very loud though and sometimes you may say he’s shouting rather than singing. The guitar riff towards the end is absolutely superb and really makes you feel the song. Like Superman, it has a very short chorus repeated lots, you don’t find it repetitive though. . This track is easily one of the best on the album and most definitely the heaviest. Some will be put off by it, others won’t. Rating: 5/5
3, Brother. You get into this song almost straight away. The intro is rather amazing. Kelly’s vocals do sound quite distorted throughout the track, not dissimilar to anything by the Bravery. The chorus in this song is infectious. “You Walk Right Up To Me / Abuse Me On The Street / Like A Cannonball Killing Me.” Pure class. Once again, the song isn’t a letdown and you can see how far they have come since the poor effort of You Gotta Go There To Come Back. Rating: 5/5
4, Devil. The intro to this song is once again terrific. You can feel the song getting more and more up-tempo as you go towards the chorus. The chorus is once again, infectious. Very noisy, both with the instruments and vocals. The song goes back down to its slower tempo until the chorus. The chorus is by far the best part of this song. Each and every time I hear this I feel it isn’t long enough and could go on for ages, but at well over 4 minutes in length, actually isn’t. By FAR the best track on the album! Rating: 5/5
5, Dakota. The track that everyone already knows and loves. The song which seems to have won them new fans. So far, it is by far the quietest song on the album, but then after the first four tracks, a slower track is due. The chorus of this song does seem more and more repetitive every time you listen but just somehow never gets boring. The song isn’t as strong as some of the others on the album but if this was put on either JEEP or YGGTTCB it would easily have been the best song on the album, this just shows how much of an improvement they have made over the past 18 months. Rating: 4.5/5
6, Rewind. You can tell from the first time Kelly sings on this that this is going to be one of the slowest songs on the album, which it is, but unlike previous albums where the slower tracks have been the worst; this is an improvement on all the previous songs apart from Devil. Some of the lyrics really make you get into the song, such as “‘Cause Change Is Okay / what’s The Point of Being The Same”. The backing vocals on the track really are something to listen to closely. They really make Kelly’s vocals stand out on this track, his voice may sound slightly groanier than on other tracks but in all honesty it actually makes the track better. Along with Devil it really is a standout track on the album. I really can’t praise this song enough. Rating: 5/5
7, Pedalpusher. This song is slightly more up-tempo than the previous song, Rewind. A repetitive drum and guitar key throughout apart from when the chorus is just about to begin is perfect. It never gets boring at any point. Not as good as most of the songs on the album, this would probably fit JEEP quite well. Rating 3.5/5
8, Girl. Yet another song where the tempo gets slightly faster but doesn’t quite reach the heights of Devil or Doorman. Despite this being a more up-tempo song it kind of passes by and isn’t very memorable apart from the chorus “Girl You Got Me Going / Don’t You Want to Fly”. Although coming in at 1 minute 59 seconds long, it’s not going to be the most memorable song ever written. Rating: 3/5
9, Lolita: Shares the same name as Kelly’s daughter, Lolita is another slower song, but as with Rewind, is a very memorable one. The way the three of them work together on this song is very impressive and the chorus is one of the best I have ever heard. The way Kelly sings Lolita is amazing and makes you fall in love with the song. He drags it out for quite a while as “L-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-Lolita”. As with Rewind, this is a slower song which doesn’t bore you to death as their previous material has. Rating: 5/5
10, Deadhead. Back to a more up-tempo song again. Although Deadhead is nowhere near as good or impressive as the other up-tempo songs on the album. However, the chorus makes the song sound better than it actually is. The chorus is uplifting and catchy, definitely one to sing along to. Rating: 3.5/5
11, Feel. Feel is a perfect song to end the album, the slowest song on the album. Lots of lyrics for Kelly to sing on this compared to most others on the album. This would have been a perfect track to have been put on YGGTTCB and would have dramatically improved the album. Rating: 4/5
Overall: A very good album which sees the trio back to their best, and most definitely one of, if not, THE best album to be released in the last 2-3 years. In terms of quality it surpasses the last two albums by miles. Javier Weyler seems to be the perfect replacement on the drums for Stuart Cable. Unfortunately I don’t think they will ever beat the genius album which was their first one, Word Gets Around. Kelly’s voice is suited to all of the songs; the singing does seem groany at points but at the same time is still excellent. If you like Dakota and are thinking of getting the album on the strength of it then do so, you will not be disappointed. Rating: 4.5/5
Tracks in order of quality:
1, Devil
2, Rewind
3, Lolita
4, Doorman
5, Brother
6, Dakota
7, Superman
8, Feel
9, Deadhead
10, Pedalpusher
11, Girl
