A Second Glimpse of the Stereophonics
It's all taken back. The comments made about the Stereophonics in the review of "Since I Told You It's Over" clearly don't apply anymore, thanks to the latest single from the Stereophonics: "Moviestar" - although "Since I Told..." still is dire. Moviestar was written after the last album ("You Gotta Go There To Come Back") was released, during their extensive touring schedule, and the tracks contained on this single are all recordings of live performances, including Moviestar itself, which would normally be presented in studio recording form. The decision to release only live tracks helps to convey the atmosphere found at Stereophonics gigs to the listener, and it is made oh-so-obvious that the Stereophonics work well on stage.
To be blunt: this song is great - theres a lot out there in the musical ether which beats it, of course, but Moviestar sure is a catchy song. It's similar to the earlier work of the Stereophonics, such as the song "The Bartender and the Thief", which follows after Moviestar on this aforementioned collection of live tracks.
Moviestar opens with some synth sampling, after which the bass and drums kick in, and then the song is away. Kelly Jones' (vocals, guitar) voice may have tortured my ear drums back on "Since I Told You It's Over", but the hoarseness has vanished - perhaps due to the lack of contrast which existed between his croaky vocals and the acoustic guitaring back on the previous single. Now his vocals fit in with the music, seemingly at home with this more upbeat and rock 'n' roll tune. The song contains that timeless rock cliché, of course, in that the verses are quiet, with distorted guitar and other various examples of VOLUME breaking through for the chorus, but hey, it makes you want to dance! Forget about the clichés!