Stereophonics - Oochya!
Welsh rock veterans return with their 11th album, a record that turns out to be a run through their 25 year career.
First things first, the album title. When Oochya! was announced it left fans scratching their heads as to what on earth it meant. According to Kelly Jones it is a word that means absolutely nothing but ‘’it feels good saying it, a bit like let’s have it, a bit of energy” and that, in parts, is what this album has.
Stereophonics have been around since the back end of Britpop, arriving as the first band to be signed to Richard Branson’s Virgin Records, they won Brit awards, Brat awards and swarms of fans thanks to their powerful debut album Word Gets Around and the even more popular Performance & Cocktails.
Fast forward a quarter of a century and whilst the music press are no longer interested they still have a massive fan base and perform sell out shows in the biggest arenas around.
What Oochya! does really, really well is take us on a merry dance through the ‘Phonics catalogue. Opening with Hanging On Your Hinges suggests the band are heading back to 1997, the riff could have been ripped from their debut album, bound to be a live favourite, it is an opener up there with the likes of Superman from the bands Language, Sex, Violence, Other record.
The single Forever may well sound very familiar for long time fans of the band, this is because it was originally a B side way back in 2009. Jones admitted that he was looking going through old music files and recalling this song as a call for hope and spirit in these troubled times.
Double LP’s (this album has 15 songs) can often seem bloated but thankfully Oochya! doesn’t outstay its welcome. The record is flooded with influences, Running Around My Brain has more than a hint of The Black Crowes about it. There’s Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road piano refrain on All I have Is You and towards the end of the record it becomes very Rolling Stones lite. Seen That Look Before could have been lifted from The Band’s The Last Waltz.
Oochya!’ was recorded in just seven days, produced by Kelly Jones with regular Stereophonics producers Jim Lowe and George Drakoulias, it is fan service to those who have stayed loyal to the band. It won’t win over any new fans but with seven number ones under their belts and fans flooding to their live shows, Jones and Co don’t need any.
7/10
