Keep the Village Alive
Studio album by Stereophonics
Released	11 September 2015 (2015-09-11)
Recorded	July 2011 – December 2014
Studio	ICP Studios (Brussels, Belgium) Stylus Studios (London)[1]
Genre	Rock[2][3]
Length	40:35
Label	Stylus Records
Producer	Kelly Jones Jim Lowe[1]
Stereophonics chronology
Graffiti on the Train (2013) Keep the Village Alive (2015) Scream Above the Sounds (2017)
Singles from Keep the Village Alive
"C'est la Vie" Released: 12 May 2015 "I Wanna Get Lost with You" Released: 21 July 2015 "Song for the Summer" Released: 27 November 2015 "White Lies" Released: 19 February 2016 "Mr and Mrs Smith" Released: 24 June 2016

Keep the Village Alive is the ninth studio album by Welsh rock band Stereophonics. Released on 11 September 2015, it was produced by lead singer and guitarist Kelly Jones, along with Jim Lowe. It is intended to be the second of two album volumes, with its predecessor Graffiti on the Train being the first. It is the first album to feature Jamie Morrison, who joined during the production of Graffiti on the Train in 2012. Keep the Village Alive was met with a similar positive response as Graffiti on the Train and topped the UK Albums Chart, becoming the band's first to do so since Pull the Pin (2007).

Background

During the writing process for the band's previous album Graffiti on the Train (2013), Kelly Jones had written 40 song ideas, 30 of which were recorded and completed.^[4][5] With the intention of releasing an album trilogy, the band decided against this idea after Green Day released their ¡Uno! ¡Dos! ¡Tré! series,^[6] instead planning to release another album with ten songs.^[7] Tracks from these sessions were included in Keep the Village Alive, though these track names are not stated.^[8] Stereophonics had finished their Graffiti on the Train Tour on 28 November 2013 and in late February 2014 they went into the studio to start working on the album.^[9][10]

Writing and recording

Speaking about "I Wanna Get Lost With You", Kelly Jones mentioned the track is about "wanting to lose yourself personally, and lose yourself with somebody, and then just literally get out there."^[11] Jones came up with the melody for "Song for the Summer" while sleeping in the studio after listening to another track for half a day. The next day he wrote the lyrics in a short time and it took 45 minutes to record.^[12] Jones approved the album for mass production on 22 June 2015.^[13]

Promotion and release

After the band decided against the album trilogy, the following album was due to be released some point between the release of Graffiti on the Train and January 2014.^[14] Kelly Jones tweeted in late September 2014 that the album had been mixed and was to be released in autumn 2015 and have new songs released in May.^[15] True to their word, it was later announced in May 2015 that a new song ("C'est la Vie") would be released a day later and the album on 11 September 2015.^[1][16] This harkens back to when Stereophonics' studio albums were released every two years from Word Gets Around (1997) to Keep Calm and Carry On (2009).^[17] Between the final mix and lead single release, the band played the opening night of the Teenage Cancer Trust 2015 concert – during this they debuted three new songs from this album: "C'est la Vie", "Song for the Summer" and "I Wanna Get Lost With You".^[18]

On 17 July Gigwise announced the next single from the album would be "I Wanna Get Lost With You" and they would have an exclusive showing of the band's music video for it on 20 July; a trailer for the video was released on the day of announcement.^[11]

Critical response

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	6.1/10[27]
Metacritic	63/100[28]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[29]
Clash	6/10[2]
Classic Rock	[30]
Drowned in Sound	6/10[31]
The Independent	[32]
Mojo	[33]
musicOMH	[34]
Q	[35]
PopMatters	8/10[36]
Uncut	[37]

Keep the Village Alive has received generally favourable reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 63 based on 10 reviews.^[28] Jedd Beaudoin of PopMatters gave a four-star review of the album and called it an "impressive yield of ace tracks" while complimenting they sound "as fresh as anything the Phonics have done in the entirety of their career."^[36] In his review for Drowned in Sound, Dan Lucas praised several of the tracks, stating they "make this the best Stereophonics album since You Gotta Go There to Come Back" while calling the album as a whole a variety of "straightforward piano, [...] rhythms [...] electric and acoustic guitars."^[31]

In a mixed response for Clash Music, Luke Winstanley summarised the album as "enjoyable and solid, if unadventurous rock record anchored, as always, by that tremendous voice."^[2] Senior Editor for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine declared the opening track "comes crashing out of the gates" but summarised "the power trio still trades on the hybrids of Coldplay and U2". In a much less enthusiastic review, Andy Gill from The Independent regarded Kelly Jones' writing "bereft of inspiration [...] with insipid lyric clichés".^[32]

Track listing

Notes

• "You're My Star" was originally released in 2008 on Decade in the Sun: Best of Stereophonics.

Personnel

Charts and certifications

Release history

References

Notes

Footnotes

External links

• Keep the Village Alive at Stereophonics.com