Manic Street Preachers - New Album

Take it to the ‘I don’t like Manic Street Preachers’ thread.

To say they’re largely devoid of talent is just absolutely ridiculous.

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Can’t be many bands that have produced a new album every couple of years over a 25 year period. The music isn’t to my tastes but I’ve never got the impression they were just churning it out or going through the motions. I think there is a lot to be admired in that.

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Fair point except they aren’t that talented as musicians I feel. That would be okay as in the likes of artists that make a genuine sound that reflect something that needs to be made i.e. Godflesh, Dead Kennedys… The Manics started at a funny time in music and initially stood out like a sore thumb, not necessarily in a bad way. Then that whole Welsh Guns n’ Roses thing didn’t quite work did it. I would say The Holy Bible is up there as a Classic album that reflects both the time (just Post Cobain) and of no particular time also. They kind of wandered into success by just carrying on but the churning out of albums so regularly, which should be a good thing feels more like ‘work’ than art. Not bashing the Manics and know they have hardcore fans, maybe they should focus the effort of say 3 albums into one condensed album and steer away from the Arena scene, I dunno. No offence intended.

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The Manics are a great band with a great legacy who’ve never made a less than interesting album and made a lot of great ones. Everything Must Go is my high point, just really dark yet anthemic and a real milestone of modern pop / rock.

International Blue is almost irritatingly catchy. They’ve said it’s like a sister song to Motorcycle Emptiness and I can see what they mean.

sorry, but you haven’t half chatted some bullshit in this thread

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this is the I don’t like the Manic Street Preachers thread judging by lots of the comments.

It’s so very catchy.

In response to some of the criticisms, I don’t think it’s fair to criticize the musicianship of the manics. JDB and Sean have always been excellent musicians. Wire can now play the bass. I’ve not really got into an album of theirs since TIMTTMY, but there’s a reason why they’re so acclaimed / loved by a large group of people. They’ve never tried to fit in, perhaps if they pandered to public opinion more they might take less flak/not be accused of being devoid of talent…

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I’ve never been properly “into” the Manics, prolly because the first thing I really heard of their was Design For Life which was just fucking everywhere for the entire second half of the 90s and that triplet arpeggio drove me up the wall.

That new one is properly catchy though, can imagine it’ll properly be ace live.

all the negativity in this thread just makes me like them more

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not a huge fan of the Manics here but i reckon this is pretty bollocks. James Dean Bradfield is evidently very good at what he does. it was only Richie who couldn’t really play anything.

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It’s also a weird thing to level at any band. Tonnes of successful, brilliant bands are only average musicians who could be “outplayed” by some nerdy pub rockers, but that’s not what makes them great.

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It’s late at time of writing and as stated before - truly no offence, just a genuine opinion on the band spurred on by their album title choice. I’ll leave it at that and bow out of the thread. Enjoy the new album. Not looking for any oneupmanship. Peace and music and more peeps. Keep the music boards alive and catch you in a different thread.

Of course, ‘Lifeblood’ is their best album.

I don’t like them as much as I used to. Seriously loved them when I was younger and I’d still say they were one of the great bands of the 90s, but they were nothing original (they even said ‘originality is worthless’ themselves), nor were their best albums really. They’ve released some great singles and haven’t released a bad album imo, but at the same time they never really ‘added’ anything noteworthy to music either. I think they should’ve just quit after LifeBlood* because everything since then has just been a rehash of Everything Must Go (except for Journal for Plague Lovers which is a fine album made up of leftover Richey lyrics, the unofficial sequel to The Holy Bible).

*LifeBlood is at least a bit different to everything since, in that they drew new influences from 80s synthpop bands like Depeche Mode and it sounds like a response to the post-Britpop piano rock melancholy of bands like Coldplay and Keane at the time.

I wouldn’t say they’re quite up there with Echo and the Bunnymen and New Order.

I mean, it isn’t, but it’s a lot better than most people say it is.

I have knowingly heard two Manics songs. If you tolerate this and International Blue. Hate them both…so while I’m sure they have their merits, I have no interest in discovering them.

Worthwhile take.

Check out The Holy Bible, Everything Must Go, and Futureology. Worth a shot. You may hate them, but from the EOTR thread your taste is basically me circa 2009

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I wouldn’t judge them on those songs, they’re not their best. (Although i have a soft spot for If You Tolerate This because how many other bands have got to number 1 with a song about the Spanish civil war ffs)

If you decided you did have an interest in discovering them, youd be best served listening to Faster, Motorcycle Emptiness and A Design for Life, cos if you dont like those, you definitely don’t like the Manic Street Preachers

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I’d have to massively get over myself to give them a go. Who knows, maybe one day. I might be more receptive now if it weren’t for International Blue being on Radio 6 all the time

Still my fav ever gig, just prior to Generation Terrorists being released. The energy and arrogance was incredible and unlike anything elae around. Holy Bible is great and I enjoyed Journal and a few of the singles but there has been some awful stuff over the years. Loathe ‘Your Love Alone’ for instance and I’m a fan of Nina Persson…