''Graffiti on the Train'' is the eighth studio album by Welsh
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Stereophonics
Stereophonics are a Welsh rock band formed in 1992 in the village of Cwmaman in the Cynon Valley, Wales. The band consists of Kelly Jones (lead vocals, lead guitar, keyboards), Richard Jones (bass guitar, harmonica, backing vocals), Adam Zind ...
. Produced by the group's lead-singer and guitarist
Kelly Jones
Kelly Jones (born 3 June 1974) is a Welsh singer-songwriter and a founding member, lead singer, and guitarist of the rock band Stereophonics.
Early life and debut
Kelly Jones was born youngest of three boys for Beryl and Arwyn Jones in the s ...
and Jim Lowe, it was released on 4 March 2013 on their own Stylus Records. It was the first Stereophonics album since ''
Keep Calm and Carry On'' (2009), marking the first time they had not released a record within two years. It was intended for an October 2012 release date and took nearly two years to complete.
This is the last record to feature drummer
Javier Weyler
Javier Andrés Weyler (born 3 July 1975) is an Argentine-born Venezuelan-English drummer, best known as a member of Stereophonics from 2004 to 2012. He was the drummer in the Venezuelan band Claroscuro for over nine years until he left the countr ...
, who was officially replaced by
Jamie Morrison
Jamie Morrison (born 30 June 1983) is a British musician and producer from Scotland, best known as the drummer in Welsh band the Stereophonics. He is also known for his playing with Noisettes, Drewford Alabama and Ninjas & Wolves.
Biography
I ...
on 24 September 2012.
The album's earliest idea spawned when children were running across the singer's rooftop in order to access the trains and spray paint graffiti on one of them. With 40 unfinished song ideas, the band composed 30 of these to be released as an album trilogy but decided against the idea, instead releasing a follow up (intended to be the second part) on 11 September 2015. Also planned that year is the go-ahead on production for a screenplay of the same name Jones is developing. British film composer
David Arnold
David Arnold (born 23 January 1962) is a British film composer whose credits include scoring five James Bond films, as well as ''Stargate'' (1994), '' Independence Day'' (1996), ''Godzilla'' (1998) and the television series '' Little Britain'' ...
worked alongside the producers to compose three of the song's orchestral arrangements; the record is seen as a shift in the group's musical style as it incorporates cinematic-style music. Recording sessions were primarily performed at ICP Studios in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, Belgium in order to concentrate more on the record.
The album was released to a critical success, being called one of their best albums to date; commercial performance contrasted however when compared with previous albums, selling over 300,000 copies in the UK and peaking at number three in the country's
albums chart
A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...
. It produced the band's best performing single since 2007, "
Indian Summer
An Indian summer is a period of unseasonably warm, dry weather that sometimes occurs in autumn in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Several sources describe a true Indian summer as not occurring until after the first frost, or more s ...
", and was nominated for the
World's Best Album in 2014. ''Graffiti on the Train'' was supported by a
world tour named after the album from 2012–2013 and became the tenth most popular tour of 2013.
Background and writing
In November 2009, Stereophonics released their
seventh studio album which attracted a mixed response from critics and became a commercial failure.
Lead-singer
Kelly Jones
Kelly Jones (born 3 June 1974) is a Welsh singer-songwriter and a founding member, lead singer, and guitarist of the rock band Stereophonics.
Early life and debut
Kelly Jones was born youngest of three boys for Beryl and Arwyn Jones in the s ...
has blamed the low sales on
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
's choice to release the record during the time ''
The X-Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
'' and other artists were releasing albums.
After completing their world tour to support the album in 2010, Stereophonics took a break from recording and releasing an album every two years,
resulting in the longest time gap in between two album release dates.
Around this time their contract with
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...
ended, giving the band a chance to make a fresh start. During Christmas 2010, Jones had concerns that he wouldn't be able to write new songs.
Jone explained to Neil McCormick of ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'' that his writing references and influences are different from what they were in the past.
Writing for ''Graffiti on the Train'' started when Jones thought children were trying to break into his house via the roof. When he caught them one time they told him they were trying to get to the railway behind his house to spray
graffiti
Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
on a train. The idea that they were trying to spray a love message on the train for a girl who gets the train every morning stuck with Jones and subsequently appeared in the
title track
A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title.
Title track may al ...
.
"
Violins and Tambourines
"Violins and Tambourines" is a song by Welsh rock band Stereophonics and the seventh track on their 2013 album '' Graffiti on the Train''. It was written from the perspective of a troubled man seeking redemption. David Arnold assisted produce ...
" was written as a narration of a troubled man who is struggling with his inner demons. "Been Caught Cheating" is a
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
song inspired by the late
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz.
A membe ...
. Winehouse was interested for Jones to send the song to her but he never did. "
In a Moment" is about finding hope in life "when you feel a bit lost and stuck and you don't know how to get out of it and then there's a glimmer of hope that helps you pull through it," Jones told ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
''.
With the exception of the second verse, the song is written in
third person view.
When being interviewed by Clayton Moore of ''The Marquee'', Jones explained themes featured in the album are: fear, fearlessness and hope.
He also stated the overall theme is "going over some very difficult obstacles and coming out on the other side a better man."
Recording and production
The record was produced by Jones and Jim Lowe.
Jones has been producing for the band since ''
You Gotta Go There to Come Back'' and Lowe has been involved with the band since producing their 2004 single "
Moviestar". In previous years, Lowe used an sE Electronics Gemini Valve mic to record for Stereophonics, he used it again to capture most of the vocals and some of the guitars on the album.
The band chose to record at ICP Studios,
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
to fully focus on the album instead of sidetracking, which would have happened had they chose to record in London Jones believed.
Known for his "whiskey" vocals, Jones decided to challenge and experiment his vocal limits for the album. While Stereophonics in 2011, Lowe set up Stylus Studios in
Shepherd's Bush
Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan.
Although primarily residential in character, i ...
, London.
"Graffiti on the Train", "Roll the Dice" and "Violins and Tambourines" originally had synthetic strings to go along with the music but the band wanted a real orchestral sound for the tracks. Stereophonics' publicist knew English composer
David Arnold
David Arnold (born 23 January 1962) is a British film composer whose credits include scoring five James Bond films, as well as ''Stargate'' (1994), '' Independence Day'' (1996), ''Godzilla'' (1998) and the television series '' Little Britain'' ...
and so contacted him.
Arnold agreed to help the band and assisted Jones and Lowe for the orchestral arrangements on the three tracks.
In March 2012, Wired Strings went into Stylus Studios to record the strings for "
Indian Summer
An Indian summer is a period of unseasonably warm, dry weather that sometimes occurs in autumn in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Several sources describe a true Indian summer as not occurring until after the first frost, or more s ...
".
"Take Me" features vocals from Jones' partner, Jakki Healy.
Originally just to try out and see what female vocals would sound like accompanying Jones', Healy's recorded take remained on the track.
"Been Caught Cheating" was recorded in one take.
The drum loop featured throughout "In a Moment" was programmed by Lowe.
Jones and Lowe began mixing near the end of 2011 into the beginning of 2012.
In July that year it was announced that Stereophonics were to collaborate with
Tinie Tempah
Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu (born 7 November 1988), better known by his stage name Tinie Tempah, is a British rapper. He has been signed to Parlophone Records since 2009, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. He created his own entertainment compa ...
and
Labrinth
Timothy Lee McKenzie (born 4 January 1989), better known by his stage name Labrinth, is an English singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer. After initially pursuing a career in music production, Simon Cowell signed him to his record labe ...
to release two albums,
although neither one appeared on ''Graffiti on the Train''.
The band had 40 unfinished ideas for the album; nearly 30 of these were recorded and completed.
One of the songs that were completed and not included on the album, "Seen That Look Before", was available for an exclusive listen at
Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music was a brand under which Yahoo! provided a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming. Previously, users with Yahoo! accounts could gain access to hundreds of ...
's website and as a bonus track in Japan.
Two other songs from the recording sessions, "Overland" and "Zoe", were included in certain deluxe editions of the album.
The album has been noted for the band going in a different direction with their music by utilising a cinematic atmosphere.
Second volume and film
''Graffiti on the Train'' is to be the
first of two volumes of albums, with the latter also containing 10 tracks. In July 2012, Jones said the release date for the second volume will be over the course of 18 months, he has since
tweeted
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
on the band's page that the album has been mixed and is due for a release next year. Speaking to
Absolute Radio
Absolute Radio is a British National radio station owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Absolute Radio Network. It broadcasts nationally across the UK via Digital audio broadcasting and on 1215 kHz MW.
History
1993–1997: Virg ...
on ''
the Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show
''The Christian O'Connell Show'' is a multi award winning radio show, hosted by Christian O'Connell.
The show was originally produced in the United Kingdom, starting as ''The Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show'' on a local station in Bournemo ...
'', Jones announced they plan to release the successor album early autumn but already have new songs out in May. Some of the tracks from ''Graffiti on the Trains sessions will make it to the album along with completely new songs and the band are going to play some of these during summer.
On 11 May 2015 it was announced that the new album is called ''
Keep the Village Alive'' and will be released exactly 4 months later; the artwork, track listing and editions were made available the same day on the band's website while the
lead single
A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
Release s ...
debuted on ''
the Chris Evans Breakfast Show
''The Chris Evans Breakfast Show'' (currently referred to on-air due to sponsorship reasons as ''The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky'') is the name given to two versions of a radio programme hosted by broadcaster Chris Evans in the United ...
''.
Jones is writing a script, also titled ''Graffiti on the Train'',
which will tie in the two volumes and has said, "in five years, it will all make sense as one big picture." Director
Paul Haggis
Paul Edward Haggis (born March 10, 1953) is a Canadian screenwriter, film producer, and director of film and television. He is best known as screenwriter and producer for consecutive Best Picture Oscar winners '' Million Dollar Baby'' (2004) and ...
, who is a fan of the band, has provided input by sending him feedback on the script. Jones has been developing the screenplay with people from
BAFTA and
Film Agency for Wales who are planning for the film to go into production in 2014.
The story is about a young couple who fall in love. The man spray paints love messages on the train for the woman to see every day as she gets the train to work. One day he spray paints "Will you marry me?" but the train crashes and he dies.
It will also revolve around two friends from Wales going on a "life-changing" journey after the man dies. One of the characters in the film is called Stylus and ''Graffiti on the Train'' "sort of" serves as a soundtrack because they were written simultaneously.
Release and promotion
![Nova2013 Stereophonics Kelly Jones 0007](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Nova2013_Stereophonics_Kelly_Jones_0007.jpg)
The decision to release ''Graffiti on the Train'' on the band's own label, Stylus Records, was due to their disliking of a record company's lack of commitment to the album, which led to them creating it.
The album was slatted for a release date sometime in October.
Stereophonics started promoting the album through the music video for the song "Violins and Tambourines", directed by Jones who went on to direct the videos for all the
singles
Singles are people not in a committed relationship.
Singles may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series
* ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe
* ''Singles'' ...
.
At this point a working name for ''Graffiti on the Train'' was ''Violins and Tambourines''. With the 30 songs Stereophonics had completed, they intended to release a trilogy of albums but later dismissed the idea after
Green Day
Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...
released their "''
¡Uno!
''¡Uno!'' (stylized in all caps) is the ninth studio album by American rock band Green Day, released on September 21, 2012, by Reprise Records. It is the first of three albums in the ''¡Uno!'', ''¡Dos!'', ''¡Tré!'' trilogy, a series of stu ...
'', ''
¡Dos!
''¡Dos!'' (stylized in all caps) is the tenth studio album by American rock band Green Day. The album was released on November 9, 2012, in Australia, November 12 in the United Kingdom and on November 13 in the United States through Reprise Re ...
'', ''
¡Tré!
''¡Tré!'' (stylized in all caps) is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Green Day. It is the third and final installment in the ''¡Uno!'' ''¡Dos!'' ''¡Tré!'' trilogy, a series of studio albums that were released from Septemb ...
''" trilogy. In December 2012, the band played 5 shows in the UK to promote the album further, "Indian Summer" and "In a Moment" were played in the first half of the setlist while "Violins and Tambourines" was played as part of the encore. On the last day of February 2013 the album was made available for an exclusive stream on
''The Daily Telegraphs website.
Cover art
The cover is by British artist Stephen Goddard. This cover was featured on the deluxe CD and
vinyl
Vinyl may refer to:
Chemistry
* Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer
* Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation
* Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry
* Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...
releases.
The bigger of the three heads on the oil painting is referred to as the "Nana head". Much of the CD booklet art is based on some of his work.
A month before the release date, another artwork was made for the album and was included for the single CD and
digital download releases.
This one was taken by photographer Steve Gullick in London, UK sometime in mid October and includes the newly recruited
Jamie Morrison
Jamie Morrison (born 30 June 1983) is a British musician and producer from Scotland, best known as the drummer in Welsh band the Stereophonics. He is also known for his playing with Noisettes, Drewford Alabama and Ninjas & Wolves.
Biography
I ...
on the cover. Graham Rounthwaite returned for the album's art direction, he had been the art director for all of Stereophonics' album releases since ''
Word Gets Around
''Word Gets Around'' is the debut studio album by Welsh rock band Stereophonics. It was released on 25 August 1997 through V2 Records and reached number six in the UK Albums Chart, making it one of three Stereophonics albums not to reach numbe ...
'' (1997), except for ''
Just Enough Education to Perform
''Just Enough Education to Perform'' is the third studio album by Welsh Rock music, rock band Stereophonics. Released on 11 April 2001, the album topped the UK Albums Chart with 140,000 copies sold. and spawned three top-ten singles in the form o ...
'', ''You Gotta Go There to Come Back'' and their previous album. Pictures of the band featured in the deluxe edition's booklet were taken by photographer Hans-Peter van Velthoven.
Formats
The record was released on four major formats, including: standard CD, deluxe CD, vinyl and digital download.
The deluxe CD features a bonus disc which contains stripped-down versions of some songs present on the album, a new song called "Overland" and a remix of "In a Moment".
The Japanese release featured three bonus tracks, a new track titled "Seen That Look Before" and two live versions of songs from the album: "Violins and Tambourines" and "In a Moment".
On the iTunes deluxe edition it features three videos in the studio, a new song called "Zoe", a stripped-down version of "Graffiti on the Train" and the remix of "In a Moment".
The latter two songs are present on both the deluxe CD and iTunes deluxe editions.
Singles
Four singles were released from the album and were all issued as 10"
vinyls. "In a Moment" was released as the lead single on 4 November as a free download and again as a vinyl on 10 December 2012.
Due to being available to download free of charge,
and the vinyl limited in copies, the single was not eligible to chart. "Indian Summer" was released as the second single on 18 January 2013 and is the only single out of the four to have a separate download page from the album on the
iTunes Store
The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
. The song peaked at number thirty on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, becoming Stereophonics' most successful single in the country since "
It Means Nothing" reached number twelve in October 2007.
The third single was the album title track "Graffiti on the Train" released on 13 May 2013 and peaked at number forty-four in the UK.
"
We Share the Same Sun
"We Share the Same Sun" is a song by rock band Stereophonics. It is the opening track on their 2013 album ''Graffiti on the Train'' and was released as the album's fourth single on 12 August 2013. The song was released as a 10" vinyl format and ...
" was released as the fourth and final single on 12 August 2013;
it failed to chart on the UK Singles Chart and peaked at number twenty-eight on the
UK Independent Singles Chart
The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the rele ...
. A music video was uploaded to Stereophonics' YouTube
Vevo
Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...
channel on 4 July.
Graffiti on the Train Tour
![Nova2013 Stereophonics Kelly Jones 0005](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Nova2013_Stereophonics_Kelly_Jones_0005.jpg)
Stereophonics held a worldwide tour to support ''Graffiti on the Train'' titled the
Graffiti on the Train Tour. It began in
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
, England on 15 March 2013 and finished in London, England on 28 November 2013.
The tour has visited the UK, Ireland, Japan, Australia, North America, Mexico and Korea.
With a heavy demand for tickets at
The SSE Hydro
The OVO Hydro is a multi-purpose indoor arena located within the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow, Scotland, and is the largest entertainment venue in Scotland.
The arena was initially named The Hydro after its main sponsor Scottish Hydro El ...
, Glasgow, a second date was added to accommodate. Conversely, this became the first tour in 17 years where the band had to cancel a gig; Kelly Jones suffered from a
respiratory tract infection
Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are infectious diseases involving the respiratory tract. An infection of this type usually is further classified as an upper respiratory tract infection (URI or URTI) or a lower respiratory tract infection (LRI ...
while on the Australian leg, forcing them to cancel a show in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
. During their show at Manchester on 13 November, fellow Welsh musician
Tom Jones made a surprise appearance.
In December 2013,
viagogo
Viagogo, stylized by the company as viagogo, is a multinational ticket exchange and ticket resale brand. It is headquartered in the United States and owned by StubHub Holdings. It was founded in 2006 by Eric Baker, the co-founder of StubHub.
V ...
revealed the top ten most popular touring acts – Stereophonics were placed at number ten.
Reception
Critical response
''Graffiti on the Train'' has received generally favourable reviews. At
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which assigns a
weighted average
The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 64 based on 16 reviews.
Kieran Mayall at
Clash Music
''Clash'' is a music and fashion magazine and website based in the United Kingdom. It is published four times a year by Music Republic Ltd, whose predecessor Clash Music Ltd went into liquidation.
The magazine won the Best New Magazine award in ...
praised Jones' poetic lyrics and called "Violins and Tambourines" a "true lesson" in song writing. Sean Adams from ''
Drowned in Sound
''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums.
History
''D ...
'' praised Jones' vocals as "more cat purringly perfect than ever."
''
Uncut
Uncut may refer to:
* ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship
* ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997
* '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...
'' was positive towards Jones' performance and composing, rating the album seven out of ten. Blue Sullivan from
Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
was less enthusiastic about his vocal performance stating they "go from mumbly, po-faced whinging to a passable Rod Stewart."
Matthew Horton at the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
called the album a "solid enough start" for Stereophonics going to the next step of rock.
'' (2005) and compared some of the song's sounds to those on ''You Gotta Go There to Come Back''.
Moore also compared the song's sound to ''You Gotta Go There to Come Back'' by comparing them to the atmosphere of "
".
contributor, Cole Waterman also called it their best since ''Language. Sex. Violence. Other?'' but criticised some of the tracks, calling "No-one's Perfect" a "dull ballad."
'', Eric Allen praised the album as a welcome return from ''Keep Calm and Carry On'' and called it the "closest any Stereophonics album has come to perfect in nearly a decade."
Adams stated the album could be the band's best record since ''Word Gets Around'' (1997).
'' had a generally positive review, giving it three stars out of five.
had a generally mixed review, saying the record, "remains distinctly earthbound for all its big aspirations."
At No Ripcord, Carl Purvis called it a solid record but criticised the band for not stepping out of their "meat and potatoes" zone. In a negative review, Leonie Cooper of ''
'' summarised the album by saying: "The deft Tom Petty chug of "Indian Summer" is anthemic enough, but there's little else to get excited about."
Sullivan rated the album one and half stars out of five, criticising the tracks sounding "like they can't be bothered to get off the couch."
to miss out on the top-spot.
It debuted at number two in Scotland and reached number one on the UK Indie chart.
Four days after its release, the album was given a silver certification by the
, it went on further to get a gold certification on 3 May 2013 and then over a year later platinum status on 2 October 2014.
The album took nearly as long as ''Word Gets Around'' to receive a platinum status, taking over a year and a half to gain the award.
It has, however, been in the UK charts for 34 weeks—making it the band's longest remaining studio album since ''Language. Sex. Violence. Other?''
To date, the album has sold over 300,000 copies in the UK, while this outsold their previous two albums it failed to repeat the success their albums had set prior to the release of ''Pull the Pin''.
At the end of 2013 it was the country's 24th biggest selling album of that year.
Outside of their home territory the record has been the band's strongest chart performer since ''Language. Sex. Violence. Other?'' In Ireland the record reached number thirteen on the albums chart while peaking at number three on the indie chart,
remaining in the albums chart for eleven weeks.
In Austria it managed to peak at number sixty-three and remained in the chart for one week, their first album to chart since 2005.
) chart the album peaked at number forty-four for a week – it stayed on the charts for fifteen weeks, the longest a Stereophonics album has remained.
) chart it was their best performer since ''Just Enough Education to Perform'' (2003) reaching number fifty-five, though it was not their longest chart run.
The album has also been one of their weakest performing outside the UK. Out of the four albums that have charted in Australia, ''Graffiti on the Train'' ranks as the third top placing for peaking at number forty-two and remained in the charts for one week.
In France the record is their second worst chart placement at number fifty-eight, followed only by ''Keep Calm and Carry On'' and stayed in the charts for five weeks.
.
on track 3
* Jakki Healy – vocals on track 4
* Mikey Rowe – keyboards on tracks 7, 8, 10
;Technical
* Violins – Leader John Bradbury, Leader of 2nds Roger Garland
* Violin section – Rolf Wilson, Warren Zielinski, Rita Manning, Dave Woodcock, Eos Chater, Debbie Widdup, Maciej Rakowski, Steve Morris, Boguslaw Kostecki, Dai Emanuel, Emlyn Singleton, Philippa Ibbotson, Perry Montague-Mason, Patrick Kiernan, Mark Berrow, Tom Pigott-Smith
*
– 1st Johnathan Williams
* Cello section – Tony Lewis, Dave Daniels, Frank Schaefer, Martin Loveday, Paul Kegg
*
– drums on track 5
* Leo Taylor – drums on track 6
* Matthew Pierce – keyboards
;Technical
ing, recording, engineering on track 6 – Pablo Clements and James Griffith
* Mixing – Chris Allen