| Abstract Unknown Girl |
18-09-2010 13:36 |
Well I've listened to it a few times all the way through. It's not bad, but I can't say I completely love it.
The first three tracks are pop-tastic. The title track is so far my favourite on the album. Then ironically it descends into mediocrity in the form of The Descent and Hazelton Avenue; the latter sounding like The Promise by Girls Aloud (I usually like Girls Aloud for the record, but that is one of their worst singles and I don't need the Manics doing an even crappier version :p). Then things pick up again with Auto-Intoxication and Golden Platitudes, which along with PFYAM are the high points of the album.
I Think I Found It is probably the lowest point of the album for me and not that fussed about Billion Balconies either. I quite like All We Make Is Entertainment. The intro sounds like the live version of Bling (Confessions of a King) by The Killers and parts of the chorus sound like Better Best Forgotten by Steps. Sorry, but it does :lol: 'Pointless jobs lead to pointless lives' probably wouldn't resonate well with the 'masses' Nicky is so desperate to communicate with though.
The Future Has Been Here 4 Ever is...different. It's not as bad as I thought it was going to be though, mainly due to the fact James sings on it as well as Nicky. I wish we didn't have to have the token 'NICKY SINGS!!!' track on each album though. I know some people do appreciate his voice, sadly I'm not one of them and it just feels like a waste of a track. Also, I don't want to come across like a SPAG Nazi, but for fuck's sake can Nicky get over all the '4 Ever' nonsense? It's just naff and really jars with me when looking at the otherwise pretty deluxe packaging.
I quite like Don't Be Evil, it's quite KYE somehow. But it's a bit of a strange album closer. Although I think perhaps ending on say All We Make Is Entertainment for example would have been a tad too cheesy even for this album.
So, overall a bit of a mixed bag. I can't really say I'm disappointed, because my expectations weren't massively high to begin with. I know this has all been said before, but I wish they hadn't bothered with the whole 'mass communication' stuff. Whatever everyone here thinks of the album, I don't think those outside of the fanbase are really going to give a shit about it and well, It's Not War doesn't look like it's going to set the charts alight tomorrow. This is all totally fine by me; I'm not a fan of this band because I need them to have number 1 singles or whatever. I just wish THEY didn't seem to care so much at this stage of their careers. I hope this is indeed a 'last shot' at mass communication and they just make music for themselves and if we all like it, then hey great and if we don't, then no big deal. Sony might not be up for that approach, but I don't think the Manics even need Sony anymore. It's not as if they've done a sterling job of promoting this album anyway. This band frustrate me more than anything sometimes. To some people this might come across as constant moaning, but I can assure you it's only because I care and know they are capable of much better than seemingly making an album aimed at a misguided notion of the 'masses', who probably actually existed over a decade ago rather than right now.
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