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Originally Posted by IntlDebris
At times it still feels like they're still in the 'reeling from Lifeblood' mode that led to SATT - going for a kind of 'typical' Manics sound, something which ignores the fact that all of their first seven albums sound quite different to each other. JFPL and RtF/F were different because it felt like they went in with a very distinct idea to not sound like that, but the rest of the time it's just... greatest hits fodder, I suppose. Songs which will fit seamlessly into their singles-heavy live set. Which, as far as singles go, isn't such a bad thing, as long as the albums contain other stuff, but frankly, the albums are often chock full of the same. RiF still has a great second side for me, but even then I'm baffled by the lack of inclusion of 'Soundtrack for Complete Withdrawal', which is easily the most interesting song from those sessions for me. Same with 'My Drowning World' on TUVL. After just how well Futurology was received, you'd have thought they would have leant into this side more, but I can't help feeling that somewhere in the band there's still this sense of doubt of leaving their comfort zone for fear of fan backlash.
Who knows. There's still the possibility that this album will have its fair share of 'Sleepflower' / 'Removables' / 'Small Black Flowers' type songs that mean it's not all three-and-a-half-minute major key anthems. But I wouldn't be surprised if not.
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I'd agree with most of that. Futurology for me has been the most interesting album they've put out since JFPL, due to the range of styles attempted. I'm not saying all of it worked, but at least it was pushing boundaries.
It's an interesting comparison with post reunion Suede. Whilst their first couple of albums back felt a little generic, The Blue Hour and Autofiction both sound like Suede but at the same time are completely different in ambition and approach, with both of them standing up in terms of quality with the band's earlier output.