Almost three decades into their career, Stereophonics’s stolid songwriting now has a novelty value in a music streaming culture that favours pop and hip-hop. The band recently beat Kanye West to score a seventh chart-topping album, a rare victory for rock.
An unwillingness to innovate has not won over critics but it probably helped the group settle into a dependable live unit and maintain a fanbase that knows what it likes.
When the band dug into their heavier back catalogue it was often effective, at least when they weren’t embellishing their no-frills songs with saxophone solos. For fans, this intimate gig was a rare chance to experience Kelly Jones’s rasping vocal and sometimes ropey lyrics outside of arenas.
The venue suited new songs such as Bust This Town and Hungover For You, which seemed raw and rudimentary even for Stereophonics.
Over the evening Jones made diversions into artless ballads, the best of which was the lovely Have A Nice Day. They were politely received, though everyone was really waiting for the crashing choruses on beery anthems Just Looking and Local Boy In The Photograph.
While other guitar bands might worry about which direction to take next, there are no such concerns for Jones. Stereophonics just go on and on.
