By now, even the most casual music fan knows exactly what to expect from the Stereophonics. Retro-rock guitars, tunes designed to be sung on football terraces, Kelly Jones's gravelly vocals - they're all present and correct on You Gotta Go There To Come Back, the fourth album from the Welsh lads that differs hardly at all from its three bestselling predecessors. Critics tend not to like this stuff very much and there are some sound reasons why - Stereophonics are so one-dimensional, they make Ronan Keating look like David Bowie. Predictable though it is, however, there's a good-natured matiness about this album that ultimately makes it hard to dismiss. The canny trio may not have the creative ambition of a Radiohead, or even a Coldplay - but when it comes to pleasing the masses, they're as reliable as anyone. And packed as it is with sturdy tunes and choruses that are infuriatingly difficult to forget, this solid effort should keep them packing out stadiums for a few more summers yet.

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