The bands second album following their successful debut album Word Gets Around (V2, 1997). I have always liked their previous stuff such as Local Boy in the Photograph and A Thousand Trees but prior to the release of this album, and in particular the single Just Looking, I was never a big fan of the band.
The album kicks off with Roll Up and Shine, a departure for the Phonics as it is a more rockier sound than that seen in their previous stuff. This new rockier feel carries on with The Bartender and the Thief which was the first release from this album. The pace is then slowed down with the third track, returning to a classic Stereophonics slow ballad. The forth track, Pick a Part that’s New is probably one of the best songs released so far this year and is most definitely in my all-time top 20 tunes! It gets better, as its video not only has the Stereophonics and a great song but also three mini coopers as it’s a pastiche of “The Italian Job”.
It is followed by Just Looking which many might say is a too mainstream but that’s not to say its crap. The rest of the album carries on in a more traditional Stereophonics manner carrying on from where the first album left off. However it’s only when you get to the last track - I Stopped to Fill my Car Up that the album again changes direction. Whereas the rest of the album is (slow) guitar rock, this is just vocals over a piano. This is a very good album and if you like the singles you’ll definitely enjoy listening to it.
Many would say (and in fact some have said) that the first album is better, and although Performance and Cocktails is not a bad album, fans of the band may be a little disappointed. However for people like me who before this album weren’t big fans of the band, this album only changes all that. I must admit though that the lyrics in some of the songs on the new album are a bit uninspiring than those on the first, but for my personal taste, this is balanced by more catchier tunes.
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