That’s more like it. Some music I can tolerate and enjoy listening to. None of this autotune bollocks. Manic Street Preachers, who isn’t a fan? I have enjoyed listening to this band since 1996 (Yes, I was a bit late to the party. Coming along after ‘A Design for Life’.)However, I have enjoyed many of their songs from the beginning to the present day and have seen them perform live on a few occasions and several times via YouTube. I have watched plenty of documentaries on them and, of course, the curious case of the missing ex-lead guitarist and ex-chief songwriter Richey Edwards. The Manics, known affectionately by their loyal fanbase, have evolved from full-on punk to indie pop-friendly hits to just being part of the music industry furniture. The band has been around since 1986 and has never shied away from political matters. Indeed, many of their songs involve some political message, and the 2014 album “Futurology” expressed this while being more ambitious with their songwriting, now led by bassist Nicky Wire.

There is a particular song off the record that I will describe as “delicious” with its message shortly. You could say that the Manics have got more political yet ambitious over the most recent records, and this album doesn’t stray too far from that path. Of course, their most recent record, 2018’s “Resistance is Futile”, gave Nicky Wire plenty of ammo to use regarding current affairs, so Nicky was never short of ideas on what to talk about. However, while “the Ultra Vivid Lament” is politically charged, Nicky reflects in tracks like the opener, ‘Snowing in Sapporo’, and even the fast-paced, ‘the Secret He Had Missed’ has a sprinkle of melancholy. When you listen to the second disc full of demos and one’s with just Nicky’s vocals and an acoustic guitar, you get a real sense of how melancholic and reflective the album is. I also noticed that most of the tracks feature an acoustic guitar, which I found quite surprising for the band. One of the latter tracks featured Julia Cummings and is what I would describe as a typical Manics track with its full-on rock and James Dean Bradfield’s in-your-face vocals.

The band have taken it back to their youth and has taken inspiration from the music they used to listen to. Particularly in the 1980s, which is evident in ‘Quest for Ancient Colour’. The first thing that caught my ear was how it sounded like a Simple Minds track, and I thought it might remain like that. Of course, Manics added their originality to it as well. My standout, though (As mentioned earlier without the title.), is the brilliant ‘Orwellian’. It describes perfectly the shitstorm we are all caught up in at the moment, which of course, the great late George Orwell said would happen as the years went by. I also love the attack on the useless prime minister and the current government. Once again, a particular party is never too far away from the sighter on the Manics sniper. I also recommend listening to the second disc. 

Particularly Nicky’s version of ‘Don’t Let the Night Divide us’. Although Nicky’s vocals could be better, the message and delivery bring home the message. I have seen many pan this album saying that the Manics should give up and tour their back catalogue, but I am not on board with that opinion at all. I liked the record, and I don’t care if there is an element of the kind of songs Blossoms make (Because there is.), so shoegaze pop. It deserves to be their first number-one album for 23 years, which is remarkable when you consider just how strong their lyrical content and sound are. Indeed, it is an injustice not to have scored a top spot since the brilliant and very much still relevant “This is My Truth Tell Me Yours”. They were right. If we tolerated it, then our children would be next, and that is sadly looking more like the case now.

Song recommendations: ‘Orwellian’, ‘the Secret He Had Missed’, ‘Don’t Let the Night Divide us(Nicky Wire Home Demo)’

8/10