I’ve always been a huge Stereophonics fan. I love all their previous albums, and this one is certainly no exception. I went to see them a couple of years ago at MEN, and they fall into the fray as one of the best live bands I have ever seen. I was waiting with bated breath for the new release - Language Sex Violence Other?

I got my hands on a copy a few days ago, and have given it a couple of listens. First impressions were not all that good. I thought they had gone a little too far down the grunge, heavy route they took with “You Gotta Go There To Come Back”. However, I rarely like an album on the first listen, and so decided to keep persisting.

I must admit that it has grown on me considerably after the third and fourth play. You start to appreciate the little features of each song, as is always the case. Although there are admittedly some fairly heavy songs on the albums, there are some great “single potential” tracks such as Dakota and Pedalpusher.

I really don’t think that it’s up to the quality of their previous albums, and I still believe that “Just Enough Education to Perform” was the peak of their musical journey. However, it’s certainly worth a listen for any of the Stereophonics fans out there, and for anyone into that type of music.