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The Welsh band Stereophonics have made a reputation for themselves by crafting impeccably melodic, poignant Britpop songs filled with clever, melancholy lyrics and hefty guitar lines. The three-piece combo-singer/songwriter Kelly Jones, basisst Richard Jones (no relation) and drummer Javier Weyler-frequented the same working class pub in the South Wales town of Cwmamam. They bonded over a love of alternative rock bands like The Tragically Hip and Mother Love Bone and decided to try forming a band. Local gigs gave them time to perfect their hook-filled songs. After scoring opening slots with fellow Welsh rockers Manic Street Preachers and folk band Ocean Colour Scene, they were the first band signed to Richard Branson's fledgling Virgin Records V2 label. Their debut album, Word Gets Around laid the blueprint for what to expect from a Stereophonics release-big, intelligent songs about life's little tragedies. One song, "A Thousand Trees," details the life of a local soccer coach plagued by rumors in a small town while "Goldfish Bowl" is a meditation on alcoholism among the suburban working class. Stereophonics have never achieved mainstream US success, a fact critics often attribute to the band's timing-they didn't show up til the mid-90's Britpop explosion had come and gone. But their thoughtful, rockin' singles keep the English charts interesting. Some of Stereophonics' biggest singles have included "Dakota," "Mr. Writer" and "The Bartender and the Thief." Stereophonics recently pulled out of a tour with Britpop rivals Oasis and are said to be in the studio recording an album to be released in 2007.

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