Manic Street Preachers: Lifeblood

[Eldritch]

What a surprise! I had sort of given up on Manics after the mess of their last album Know Your Enemy (2001). But yesterday the mailman brought me an advance promo of their new album Lifeblood, that sounds really inspired. This is by far their most synth-y sounding album so far, very lush, very pop in a very grown-up way, very New Order. In fact the terrific opening track 1985 reminds very much of Smashing Pumpkins's classic New Order riposte 1979. Even James Dean Bradfield has toned down his bellowing which has always annoyed me about MSP.

After two listens, there still are a handful of tracks which haven't made any impression on me, but overall this sounds very fresh and promising. And you got to love a band who can write a song called The Love Of Richard Nixon.

[Flaffer]

And you got to love a band who can write a song called The Love Of Richard Nixon.

no you don't, I f-ing hate them and their sixth form lyrics

[raggatwin]

i've always quite liked them despite their anti PSB comments.....

[Glenny4]

And you got to love a band who can write a song called The Love Of Richard Nixon.

no you don't, I f-ing hate them and their sixth form lyrics

Same here, can't stand this band

[Scandal]

I have always liked the Manic Street Preachers. I have most of their albums - I thought Know Your Enemy wasn't too bad. I am looking forward to hearing Lifeblood.

[Lethe]

Ironically enough, the revolutionaries sold out. Sometime after Richey 'left' and his influence was no longer felt - as it was on Everything must go - they turned into a casual-wearing Oasis clone.

Ocean spray is a beautiful song though.

I'll give 1985 a listen because I love 1979.

[raggatwin]

Ironically enough, the revolutionaries sold out. Sometime after Richey 'left' and his influence was no longer felt - as it was on Everything must go - they turned into a casual-wearing Oasis clone.

Ocean spray is a beautiful song though.

I'll give 1985 a listen because I love 1979.

very true.

[raggatwin]

isn't Chris Lowe a casual as well........

[Kris]

Hmmm, interesting. I'm not a huge fan of the MSP but have liked the odd song by them. And I'm not too surprised by their new direction because they hinted at a synthy sound on their last single There By The Grace Of God (or whatever it was called).

[Lethe]

isn't Chris Lowe a casual as well........

i. He can pull it off.

ii. He only occasionally flounced around in feather boas and make-up.

iii. He's not as fat as James Dean Bradfield and Sean Moore.

[raggatwin]

Lethe wrote

i. He can pull it off.

just about.......

[mindboy]

Nah...this band really really sucks...and if they've ever said smth. anti-PSB, they suck even more!

[Eldritch]

Ironically enough, the revolutionaries sold out. Sometime after Richey 'left' and his influence was no longer felt - as it was on Everything must go - they turned into a casual-wearing Oasis clone.

Ocean spray is a beautiful song though.

I'll give 1985 a listen because I love 1979.

I ithink that's a bit one-dimensional way to look at MSP's career. Their idea of being rock revolutionaries was always very ironical and ambivalent: when they surfaced in 1990 in they cited Guns'N'Roses as the greatest rock band, signed to Sony and talked about selling 15 million copies of their debut album and then splitting up. They also asked Kylie to duet with them on Little Baby Nothing - but Kylie refused.

And the casual wear thing - the fact is that Nicky and Richie were really the only glam ones, Sean ja James never really got into the makeup, glamour thing. And even after the departure of Richey, Nicky has still sported feather boas, mascara etc.

When Richey disappeared, their souns become more commercial, but the song subjects stayed as oblique as ever. Oasis never wrote hit singles about war photographers (Kevin Carter), Spanish Civil War (If You Tolerate...), autistic twins (Tsunami), race activists (Let Robeson Sing) and so on. They are among the few bands that have really stood against the "unpretentious" Oasis agenda that has spoiled British rock during the last decade. Besides, with the exception of Motorcycle Emptiness, their first two albums are quite horrible, so for me the sound of latter albums is more about musical maturity than selling out.

Sure, MSP's music and sometimes the lyrics too have been occasionally embarassing, but they are still capable of writing good songs every now and then and bringing some well-needed intelligent ambition to the world of say-nothing merchants with pretty tunes (Keane, Coldplay) or inarticulate lager louts (Oasis and their ilk). I've also interviewed Nicky and James once, and they are among the most interesting and pleasants interviewees ever in my books. The British pop needs more people like them.

[Lethe]

I love Kevin Carter but the lyrics are Richey's.

Have you read Everything? I just remember really enjoying that book until the last couple of chapters when they start playing arenas and watching too much golf.

And sure they were never obscurely 'indie'; Generation Terrorists is full of anthems but if they'd made it big circa Motorcycle Emptiness they would have been far more interesting than being a support act to Oasis.

[Eldritch]

Have you read Everything? I just remember really enjoying that book until the last couple of chapters when they start playing arenas and watching too much golf.

Yep. It's indeed one of the best rock bios I have ever read. Thorough, analytical, well written, enthusiastic but still critical in the places that it needs to.

I also think that the references to them enjoying golf, hoovering and Nicky not drinkin anymore are to some extent exaggarated in order to annoy people. It's the same when in their early career they talked about having sex with groupies, suicide and so on – the climate was so indie and politically correct then, so that kind of talk shocked people. But nowadays when such talk is par for the course MSP try to shock by being as un-rock'n'roll as possible.