Yet another Manics thread

[Kankurette]

I've become a bit obsessed with Dylan & Caitlin at the moment after giving Resistance Is Futile another try. It's not a favourite but it has its moments. Same with The Ultra Vivid Lament. A few good songs, a few snoozers.

I once told a woman on okcupid my favourite Manics album was Send Away the Tigers and she abruptly blocked me.

That's not a blockable offence. If you'd said Postcards From a Young Man, on the other hand...

[Spiteface]

They released the wrong tracks as the album for Send Away the Tigers.

Disc 2 of the 10th anniversary reissue is a much better array of songs.


Postcards is crap, though. For me the only real misfire in the Manics discography.

[rue the polywhirl]

I would say that this is a pretty solid release to put alongside Rewind The Film. I wasn't too keen on it initially because the first 30 seconds sounded like 'I'm Walking In The Air', but pretty much all of it has grown on me after a couple of listens. The only blatant clunker seems to be Blank Diary Entry with craggy Methuselah Lanegan. And the lyrics are just the pits. Also if all the diary entries are 'empty' wouldn't they tell the same story as opposed to their 'own' story?

[purlieu]

For me it's only Into The Waves of Love which I still just can't get on with (it's the sequel to The Year of Purification that no one wanted) and even that has that mad 45 seconds which are interesting.

Ha, yes, on first listen it really reminded me 'The Year of Purification'. Actually, I was surprised by how much the album reminded me of the mellower side of Know Your Enemy - there's more than a touch of 'Epicentre' to a few tracks as well. And what in the name of God is that instrumental break about? Really wonderful, I'm happy they're able to surprise me like that at this point. It sounds absolutely nothing like anything else in their entire catalogue. 'Happy Bored Alone' was strangely Futurology-ish.

It's definitely not an immediate album, I reckon I could get into it in a few listens, but first play I only liked half of it. Some of it is ludicrously poppy, songwriting-wise, maybe moreso than anything else in their catalogue. The opener and closer were the standouts for me, 'Don't Let the Night Divide Us' and 'Orwellian' the low points.

I once told a woman on okcupid my favourite Manics album was Send Away the Tigers and she abruptly blocked me.

Sounds fair. The album's grown on me somewhat over the years (the removal of 'Underdogs' on the deluxe edition helped) and, yes, the b-sides were far better than the main album, but it's always going to be a bottom-tier Manics record.

Given enough distance from the "it's The Holy Bible II!!!!!" bollocks that surrounded it, I enjoy Journal for Plague Lovers now, but on the whole that 2007-2010 era was quite bleak, it felt like such a desperate attempt to retread the past, with a GT/GATS-style rawk album, a Richie angst album and a poor attempt at Everything Must Go II. Lifeblood came along at totally the wrong time and its lack of success clearly knocked their confidence. I'm glad they've rediscovered the desire to experiment again in the past ten years - there are songs on Futurology which could easily fit on Lifeblood (particularly bonus track 'Empty Motorcade') and probably a couple of tracks from the new one as well.

[Kankurette]

Tbf Lanegan could be singing 'poo bum willy' repeatedly and I'd still find it hot.

[purlieu]

And it's a number one album!

[Custard]

They look so happy!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CT7b1HCNJ1a

I love that Sean Moore always looks like he's won a competition

[purlieu]

For anyone who's not heard them, the Japanese bonus tracks are now on YouTube.
My Drowning World - absolutely gorgeous Nicky song, should have been on the album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1jBJPL7jx8
These Dark Roads - nice song with James plundering a well-worn chord sequence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tSP8Gb5FVU

[purlieu]

Gonna save the edit glitch by doing a double post.

The stats:
27,000 Sales

91% of Manics' chart sales were physical, including 6,300 copies on vinyl, meaning it takes the top spot on the Official Vinyl Albums Chart.

Factor in a few thousand cassettes, mostly from bundles, and you still have somewhere in the region of 15,000 CDs. And people say nobody buys them anymore.

[itsfredtitmus]

I once told a woman on okcupid my favourite Manics album was Send Away the Tigers and she abruptly blocked me.

it would be worse if you said holy bible they'd run a mile

[markburgle]

My Drowning World has now turned up and is a belter of a Nicky Wire track (if you can take his vocals that is) :
https://youtu.be/T1jBJPL7jx8

The song Futurology proved that Wire can do really great, traditionally enjoyable vocals when he wants to. Although as a Fall fan I'm already primed to get on with stuff like Wattsville Blues. The only one that doesn't work for me is William's Last Words. I can see the logic of it, the vulnerability of going with quite a shaky performance, but it just sounds half baked. I think the song is in a bad key for him or something and they should've rethought it a bit.

[Kankurette]

They look so happy!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CT7b1HCNJ1a

I love that Sean Moore always looks like he's won a competition

Bradfield's starting to resemble that photo of him in The Holy Bible. Also, I swear when they turn into the Manic Street Pensioners, Sean will be the youngest-looking grandad ever.

On the subject of Nicky, I like the demo version of Divine Youth where he sings. He sang Georgia's bit when I saw them on the Holy Bible tour.

[Custard]

It warms the heart that they all still clearly get on and enjoy being together. Helps that they're a great bunch of lads I imagine

Nicky's daughter Clara looks like a chip off the old (1991 era) block
https://www.instagram.com/p/CT77hoRg-hj/

[Kankurette]

The apple hasn't fallen far from the Wire tree.

[Custard]

Not sure if I like Don't Let The Night Divide Us or not. The Eton line is a bit on the nose, but maybe that's the best way sometimes. I think it's more the weak tune behind it. Whoever said it sounds like the Jim'll Fix It or Recordbreakers theme tune was spot on!

Really loving this record though. It's easily their strongest for a while. How they keep coming up with such strong tunes in their fifties is baffling

[Kankurette]

James Dean Bradfield, that's how. I'm actually quite looking forward to seeing some of these tunes live next month at the Ritz.

[amateur]

Shook James' hand once and he very nearly crushed it into dust. A powerful man.

[JohnnyCouncil]

When I met them at Rough Trade a few years ago Bradfield was the only one who gave any semblance of a shit, Wire and Moore seemed to just want to not be there.

[itsfredtitmus]

4rweal

[Spiteface]

Saw them in Cardiff last night (night 2 of the NHS gigs for the general public)

Always great. Being the first gig I've been to in almost 2 years helped, but they've been a constant in my life for over 20 years at this point. 3 covers is taking the piss a bit though.

Bizarrely, no merch. Maybe because it was a charity gig, but I wanted to get a t-shirt and couldn't.

[Wayman C. McCreery]

I'm seeing them in Manchester in a couple of weeks, but I hope they shake the set list up a bit. The ones from the Cardiff gigs are a bit underwhelming.

Hopefully they were just treating those two gigs like festival shows. I really don't need to see them play Your Love Alone or You Stole the Sun again.

[Seedsy]

Listening to walk me to the bridge. It has came on randomly watching music vids on YouTube..
Fucking glorious, absolutely glorious. JDB guitar sound amazing. And then its over too quick, i want more..
Almost perfect

[Custard]

You wasn't wrong about JDB's last solo album, Even In Exile. 'tis very good. Could be an even stronger set of tunes than the latest Manics

[markburgle]

Listening to walk me to the bridge. It has came on randomly watching music vids on YouTube..
Fucking glorious, absolutely glorious. JDB guitar sound amazing. And then its over too quick, i want more..
Almost perfect

Brilliant bassline too. It's a shame they couldn't own what it's about because it's really powerful, but it is understandable at this point if they want to sing about him without having to answer a million questions about it.

[purlieu]

It's their best single this century, I think. Fantastic song.

Still feeling quite lukewarm about the new one. Poppy, melancholic, atmospheric, it should be right up my Manics street but it's mostly going in one ear and out the other.

Ah well, can't win them all. This is my penance for putting Resistance is Futile in my top 5 Manics albums list.

[Kankurette]

I'm off to see them in a bit. Hope they don't suck.

Resistance is Futile isn't THAT bad. It has its moments. Liverpool Revisited seems to be one of the more polarising songs they've done.

[amateur]

Listening to walk me to the bridge. It has came on randomly watching music vids on YouTube..
Fucking glorious, absolutely glorious. JDB guitar sound amazing. And then its over too quick, i want more..
Almost perfect

Astonishingly good, as everyone above has said. My favourite part? The instrumental chorus after the first verse, strong enough to stand without a vocal, which then gets even better when they add that in. Big tune.

Just looked up their most recent singles and since 2010 I reckon only International Blue comes close - maybe Postcards From A Young Man, but I realise that's an acquired taste.

[purlieu]

Resistance is Futile isn't THAT bad. It has its moments. Liverpool Revisited seems to be one of the more polarising songs they've done.

Honestly, Vivian is the only track I don't like. Otherwise it's frontloaded with solid (occasionally great - International Blue and Dylan & Caitlin) Manics pop, with a subtly weird second half. Of course, Vivian is enough to knock off a couple of points on its own.

[Kankurette]

No Kevin Carter or Gold Against the Soul, Futurology, Holy Bible tracks. Boooooo. On the plus side, we got acoustic Stay Beautiful and Spectators of Suicide.

Dylan & Caitlin and International Blue are my faves. Liverpool Revisited > SYMM.

[Wayman C. McCreery]

I was there last night too. I think it's fair to say the crowd weren't particularly up for the stuff off the new album (which all sounded great apart from Orwellian*), but the rest was a well-judged post-Covid lockdowns singalong. I had a great time.

JDB seems more comfortable than ever with being a guitar hero. He's never been that showy about it, but here he was leaning over the crowd for all his solos. And their note-perfect cover of Sweet Child o' Mine was pure dickswinging... and magnificent for it.

*I don't know why they persist with that keyboard player. He's never sounded great to me, and he was turned up far too loud during that one. It'll never happen but they should boot him and get friend of the band The Anchoress to replace him once she doesn't have to shield any more - and she can sing all the duets too.