In the first few seconds on first listen, I thought it was another Orwellian (which I don't really like tbh), but I think it does get more interesting than that once the song kicks in. It's still a little more in the vein of TUVL than I was hoping for, but let's be honest, they have never been good at picking the best songs as their lead singles :lol: Or singles that necessarily represent the sound of the rest of the album, so I'm still interested to hear the full album and put this into context.

I think this is something I do find a bit frustrating, because they clearly can still be more experimental. I must confess I haven't listened to Intimism a whole lot, but at least it was something different. And I love Even In Exile more than RIF or TUVL. You could tell it was James' passion project and it really came through with that album, even down to the podcast series he made to go with it.

I feel like they prefer to play it creatively safer with the Manics in recent years (bearing in mind Rewind the Film/Futurology are over a decade old now), which is a shame when they are capable of something more ambitious.

It'll be interesting to see how the album turns out. It wasn't that long ago that Nicky said they were looking for a track that would define the direction of the album, so it could be the album's more interesting than this lead track.

To be honest I'm a bit tired of the "embracing managed decline" style quotes and press releases. Just say it like it is, you lanky twat. :D

Just downloaded it via iTunes and listened to it a couple of times in a row.

Definitely sounds better than I remembered from when it was played on the radio. I’ve gone from liking it to really liking it.

Not sure about longevity but it’ll do for now after it being three years since TUVL.

The track has grown on me significantly on repeated listens which is what always happens. I have slight (but only slight) concerns that the album is going to be too similar to TUVL, which I loved, but something different would be nice. Feels like the "one for you, one for me" rule is out the window now. Then again this may not be much of an indicator of the whole album's sound and they typically have some real left field tracks so I'm not going to get ahead of myself just based on this.

Still, I am humming and whistling this track doing chores so that's a big mark in its favor.

I like it! Sounds much better through headphones than it did on the radio. Nice late '80sish vibe, Sean's drumming is immense. Not as instant as a Your Love Alone, definitely a grower.

Again with the fading logo, the blank artwork and a few hints in the lyrics I still can't shake the feeling they're about to R.E.M. us.

Sounds better to me now. Perhaps I had too many coffees earlier.

There's just very Manicsy production things that they do that I find a bit grating. For example, doubling the vocals on the chorus, or the piano, or shoehorning the lyrics in.

I think I'd like this better if they really did stick to the aforementioned War on Drugs influence and had more instrumental space and less words. And more guitar and less bloody piano.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GWLKfxfW...jpg&name=small

Guess they're sticking with Critical Thinking for the album name!

Ooh Dave with a leak! I prefer Decline & Fall but I guess Critical Thinking is snappier.

Final puzzle in the piece thank you! Critical Thinking... Away!!!

It's slowly growing on me but there is too much reverb on the vocals. Sounded awful when I played it over the telly earlier. Someone on Twitter said the intro sounded like the Big Match intro from the late 80s/early 90s and I have to agree. Still hate that bloody piano though.

Naw I don't like it again.

When was the last time a first song really surprised? Peeled Apples?

For those wondering about the Squeeze credit… person on FB saying that Eringa mentioned a sample of Cool For Cats in the drumming somewhere.

I get that you're down on this but International Blue knocked me on my ass and I gotta tell you, Decline & Fall, while not such an instant punch, isn't far behind.

Was about to post this - to me it sounds like the main drum section in the verses before the machine gun drums come in. Not a verbatim quote but Dave said it was a "one bar loop that underpins it all", which sounds like that.

Wish they would go with someone other than Eringa for a change.