Stereophonics Return with a New Album

Stereophonics released their latest record 'Make ‘em Laugh, Make ‘em Cry, Make ‘em Wait' today (April 25th 2025), the band had already released two singles from the album earlier in the year, the anthemic ‘There’s Always Gonna Be Something’ and the synthy, soothing ‘Seems Like You Don’t Know Me’.

The first being a rousing return to form, which frontman Kelly Jones described as “the restlessness in uncertainty, struggling to arrive at acceptance. A part within all of us.”It's a classic Stereophonics song and one of my favourite songs of this year so far, it's melancholic and anthemic something that the band have become known for. 'Seems Like You Don't Know Me' see's the band head in a different direction, with a more spacious sound alongside traditional acoustic elements. It makes for a rather interesting listen.

The album is only eight songs long and Kelly explained that this was a conscious effort from him and the band. Initially the band planned on recording a compilation record, with a couple of new songs, and instead ended up recording a new album. Jones revealed to the NME. “The record company heard a few of the demos and everybody really liked them and they said would you consider doing a studio record?” he explained. “The one thing I learned from the solo album was just doing eight songs was really interesting to me because it’s like four songs on each side of a vinyl, it’s about 40 minutes – which is roughly people’s attention span. So I just wanted to make something that was very concise, very compact, very melodic, very much how the Stereophonics sound in 2025.”

In some ways the album feels like it touches the Stereophonics of the past but also firmly looks to the future. There's moments where the band in particular Kelly look back, 'Backroom Boys' in particular harks back to his teenage years, being in pubs and bars watching live music. 'There's Always Gonna Be Something' tries to tackle finding a space in today's world. Getting that clear moment, the clear table.

This year is set to be arguably the biggest in the bands history, with some huge shows this summer. A stadium tour across the UK and Ireland, which includes a homecoming gig at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium and a huge London show in Finsbury Park.

As well as dates in Glasgow’s Bellahouston Park as part of Summer Sessions, Dublin’s St. Anne’s Park, Cork’s Virgin Media Park, and Huddersfield’s John Smith’s Stadium.

It's a good time to be a Stereophonics fan.

Thanks for reading

Jack