The music press haven’t always been the kindest to Kelly Jones and his men over the years, but still, Stereophonics have managed to score an impressive twenty top 20 hit singles over the last decade. Pull the Pin is the group’s sixth studio album and the first since 2005’s Language.Sex.Violence.Other?
Here are a group who have never delivered anything more than average, and while this latest offering was never going to be anything special, it is however shocking to discover what must be one of the most forgettable albums that’s likely to be released this year.
“Wars are always dirty and vicious/But these days, they’re also on television,” utters a newscaster, leading us into ‘Soldiers Make Good Targets.’ What once seems like an interestingly scuzzy guitar riff begins to flatten under Jones’ grating and incomprehensible vocals. It gets worse. ‘It Means Nothing’ is an unfortunate step backwards; a drab and irritating ballad that makes little use of a beautiful backdrop, instead opting to fall slave to repetitive notes and dreadful harmonies. While the bouncing tom drums of ‘Bank Holiday Monday’ provide a glimmer of excitement, the rest of the song’s childish demeanour hits the ground with a bang.
There’s something briefly likeable about the sweeping, almost eerie, chorus of ‘My Friends’, and the Feeder-like ‘Lady Luck’ has it minuscule charms too, but most of the time, Pull the Pin possesses nothing more than stale and horribly bland rock that will most likely leave even die-hard fans disappointed.