A detailed, bold, and exuberant record...
With finely crafted festival performances and a growing openness to revisit elements of their past that resonate with fans, Manic Street Preachers have approached this later stage of their career with a confident assurance. Fifteen years after their “one last shot at mass communication,” they recognize that their peak has come and gone, leaving them to cater to a devoted audience. Although there have been delays in release dates and various format options hinting at a continued affection for chart-topping hits, this album ultimately delves introspectively in multiple ways.
Previously, a Wire vocal would have been hidden in the midst of an album to minimize its impact, but now Nicky opens ‘Critical Thinking’, targeting contemporary jargon and overused phrases that have irritated the aging dissenters. His mischievously irritable delivery culminates in an outburst of “Believe in yourself. Imposter syndrome. Screw that!” Adding to the irony is the song’s title—and the album title—being yet another trendy phrase popular in some online circles. It’s charming yet sonically raw, reminiscent of Gang Of Four and PiL, reflecting an expectation of some prior knowledge.
Wire delivers a genuinely beautiful lead performance on ‘Hiding In Plain Sight’, steeped in regret and sorrow for the loss of youth. Like many tracks here, the music is intentionally grand and flows with a resonant solo from James Dean Bradfield and a sparkling instrumental section following the middle-eight, which is one of their most stunning recordings. The concept of employing beauty to express sadness and anger recurs throughout the album in tracks such as ‘Decline And Fall’, ‘Out Of Time Revival’, and ‘People Ruin Paintings’.
In ‘Dear Stephen’, Wire reflects on an old postcard from Morrissey after he missed a Smiths concert due to illness. While he feels perpetually connected to the musician’s work, Nicky expresses a desire for Morrissey to be more likable nowadays: “It’s so easy to hate, it takes guts to be kind. To paraphrase one of your heartbreak lines.” Bradfield’s beautiful vocals are accompanied by endearing guitar work that merges influences from The Smiths and Lloyd Cole. The frontman’s voice shines even brighter on ‘My Brave Friend’, an old lyric that Wire revisited while confronting his grief, filled with love and nostalgia.
Though it contains numerous lasting elements from their extensive career, this isn't a typical Manics album. Free from expectations, they joyfully embrace the melodic brilliance of the Eighties without descending into unnecessary extravagance. There appears to be some underlying tension within the band's dynamics at present, yet it has resulted in a detailed, bold, and exuberant sounding record.
8/10
Words: Gareth James
If you enjoy it, explore further: Echo & The Bunnymen, Gang Of Four, The Cure
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