Stereophonics: Graffiti on the Train review

Graffiti on the Train is the eighth studio album from the Stereophonics

The Stereophonics knew their eighth studio album Graffiti on the Train was something different.

As well as making the track 'In a Moment' available to download for free in November, the 'Phonics whole album was available to stream free of charge on the Telegraph's website four days before it's release.

Fielding criticism from some corners in the past as being bland and predictable, the Welsh group had taken their biggest break yet between GotT and 2009's Keep Calm and Carry On.

Album #8 was also released on Stylus Records, the band's own record label.

Plenty of new life breathed into the production then - but what effect, if any, did it have on the music?

Firstly for the sake of disclosure, I am a big fan of the Stereophonics and I also thought that despite sales tailing off, and losing their record of five consecutive number one albums, both Pull the Pin and Keep Calm and Carry On were excellent records.

I will happily confess that when I took advantage of the free download for 'In A Moment' and also heard 'Violins and Tambourines', which had been doing the rounds for quite a while, I was concerned and wondered if I would even purchase this Stereophonics album - the first time the thought had crossed my mind.

Although not bland, 'In A Moment' felt like it was neither a ballad nor something I was supposed to tap my feet to. The lyrics ("Don't know where you're going/Used to be a star, And everywhere you turn/They're raining on your fire") were almost like a more bitter 'Mr Writer'.

The use of strings that would go on to play such a part throughout the ten-track GotT is very prominent on 'Violins and Tambourines', and encouraged me far more that this 'new' factor to the Welsh sound would be a positive one.

But listening through the whole album in one sitting I found myself hugely relieved.

Aside from the truly dreadful 'Take Me', which apart from the b-side 'Maritim Belle Vue In Kiel' is the worst thing Stereophonics have ever put their name to, every track on Graffiti on the Train puts a slightly new twist to an hour with the Stereophonics.

'Indian Summer', the debut single from the album which struggled to number thirty in the charts, is a neatly carried tune with a nice mix of the new strings.

Kelly Jones' voice sounds as terrific as ever, and 'Been Caught Cheating' is a particular vocal highlight in the second half of the album.

'Catacomb' has a good tempo that injects a little bit of pace into proceedings half-way through but is still reminiscent of the likes of 'Got Your Number' from Keep Calm and Carry On which had the same effect to that record.

Many have suggested former drummer Stuart Cable is the subject behind the heartfelt lyrics of the final track 
'No-one's Perfect', and it's not difficult to see why.


"No-one's perfect/tomorrow, you'll see/You've made a better man of me", is fairly open to speculation but nevertheless the song is delivered with a sense of purpose that accompanies the whole album, and the idea that Cable, who died in 2010, is the 'you' in question seems verified by Jones' claim that Graffiti on the Train is 'the truest thing' he's ever written.

The mood shifts across the album are nicely timed, and to do the album justice it really needs your full attention for the 43 minutes it runs.

Having heard that around 30 songs were taken into the studio with this album in mind, ten tracks and less than fifty minutes later I can't help but feel a little shortchanged.

And with a track-record of re-releases (see 'Handbags and Gladrags' added to Just Enough Education to Perform and 'Moviestar' added to You Gotta Go There To Come Back) I fear purchasing the record at this stage will require me to spend out on an additional track or two further down the line.

On balance though Graffiti on the Train is a series of well-constructed tracks, with one anomaly, that will beautifully accompany spring, or indeed the Indian summer, when it finally arrives.


Verdict: Graffiti on the Train is certainly a breakaway from the usual Stereophonics sound and the results of keeping an album in the production cycle for twice as long as usual has paid off. I give this engaging and eclectic, albeit short, record an 8/10.

By Mark Allaway

Watch 'Indian Summer' from the Stereophonics' album Graffiti on the Train

Gears of War: Judgement review

As the final installment of one of the biggest series on Xbox 360, Gears of War: Judgement always had a mountain to climb, even before the hands-on multiplayer early-access was released.

Following the massive success of the previous three games, which amassed sales of more than 17.5 million units, developers People Can Fly took on Judgement with the premise that the game would feel very different to those released before it - risking heavy criticism from fans if they got it wrong.

The biggest change was to be chronological, taking players back to a time nearer the locust's initial assault on e-day and with Damon Baird as the main protagonist, as opposed to series regular Marcus Fenix.

Gameplay action would also feel different, said the new developers, but we've heard that before when Cliff Bleszinski at Epic Games said Gears of War 3 would be more like the original Gears with close combat fighting and backs-against-the-wall gunfights.

So how does the game actually play?

Well the biggest difference as soon as you fly into action is the method of weapon selection. Gone is the four-way selection via the d-pad, and now it's simply a two-gun affair, switching between them using Y, and grenades now being located on the left bumper and unable to plant on walls.

Although losing the four options is obviously a little tough, the biggest problem with this is that there seems to be no benefit. The d-pad is not then made available for other nice features.

Unfortunately this feel seems to run throughout the game - let's make this game different to the others, but not necessarily any better.

The new multiplayer mode which was the subject of the early access is overrun. This basically pits humans against locust in a kind of horde vs beast scenario. This has brought one nice element to multiplayer, as this game mode is not about who can active reload their gnasher the fastest.


Overrun genuinely does work best if you play as a team and utilise all the different classes available, particularly when playing on the human side. If this is the logical choice however, gamers are not, for the most part, following suit.

More often than not when playing online you will begin your game of overrun with an abundance of engineer Bairds and possibly 'Cole Train' soldiers, with a scattering of scouts as former UIR sniper Garron Paduk.

Most rare is the character of Sofia Hendrick as the medic class, and yet it is one that is both important for the game type and enjoyable to play when you get it right.

Firstly the medic's starting weapons are a lancer and the sawed-off shotgun so you're pretty well equipped for a good scrap. The 'ability', something every character type on overrun possesses, is a stim grenade, which revives and heals teammates.

Balance is a term that has plagued criticism of Gears online in the past, whether it be weapons or maps or game modes, but here there is a very strong case for saying the locust medic, i.e the kantus, is far easier to use than the human medic.

The stim gas grenade can only be thrown in a straight line (obviously) but the kantus' heal ability automatically locks on to nearby teammates, and once you factor in the ability cooldown time on the stim grenade, it's not too difficult to see why players may be put off from using the medic.

Aside from overrun the other online game types are nothing drastically new, deathmatch and team deathmatch still exist as well as a zone-based possession game, albeit with new labels, and survival is a slight change from horde and a fifth of the length at just ten waves.

As for the campaign, People Can Fly have certainly changed the feel, of that there can be no doubt.

Having played thus far (and admittedly having not completed it yet) the campaign has failed to get my interest whereas the previous storylines were more involving.

Gears 1-3 built up a core character base without sacrificing the key themes of survival, sacrifice and desperation, particularly in GoW3.

Judgement feels more like a plotline that plods along from section to section, asking which different type of locust it can throw at you next.

At the climax of each chapter you are scored and rated and given the option to replay, making the whole campaign more arcade-based. One nice addition is the fact the enemies will vary, with different classes spawning on each attempt at the section.

The addition of 'de-classified' missions also add a challenge element and some re-playability, but overall the story lacks some cohesion and genuine depth. There aren't even the sometimes infuriating hand-on-ear sections that ran throughout the previous games, but these were often important to the story and characters. And you could always skip them on the second play...

PCF may have faced an uphill task to re-invent such a well-known series as Gears, but in attempting to put their own spin on the series they have altered the feel altogether and removed the cinematic appeal that saw many invest hours into the original games.

It's still an enjoyable experience, and overrun is certainly a fine addition, but I wonder if the lion's share of this gaming pleasure in Judgement actually comes from the designs already laid down by the series so far.

Verdict: GoW: Judgement is certainly unlike the three games before it, but different doesn't necessarily mean better. Like a Premier League football club Gears should have stuck with what they had and maintained the status quo, rather than seeking success through drastic change. Creating an enjoyable but slightly disappointing experience, I would rate GoW: Judgement at 7/10.

By Mark Allaway