Distant Colours

[someone, somewhere, soon]

Said this in the album thread; this is one for the acoustic slot I reckon (even more so now knowing it’s a James lyric).

[FDGIRL]

I feel your pain. I got lucky and got to hear it when they were doing an interview on Radio X London. I REALLY don't understand why they locked down the video on YouTube . It is very annoying.

Originally Posted by slop101

And... I'm not allowed to hear the song because I happen to be a Manics fan in The States.
What a bunch of crap this territorial nonsense is.
Like, why would they even block it here? What is the point in doing so?

It's on spotify, but it doesn't allow me to play the song. Oh well, guess I'll just wait for the record I pre-ordered to arrive...

[Frozendiva]

Available up here in Canada.

[tomd2103]

Starts off a bit slowly, but really picks up towards the end.

[usagainstyou]

Originally Posted by usagainstyou

I love both the song and the video

Listening to it on repeat. I can’t stop!

[manicbill]

Was worried about this after the first listen, but saw the video and suddenly it all makes sense. What a chorus.

[everlasting]

Originally Posted by UEF

For me, it's "By The Rivers Of Babylon", especially in the chorus/guitar

You know, since I read your comment I can't help but sing that in my head when I listen to the new Manics track!

[Europa Gluten Free]

Some really arsey comments on here.

I think it's fantastic. Not as immediate as IB but melodically it sounds a lot more melancholic and vulnerable. This is clearly an acoustic written song given the big band treatment in the studio. Lovely big minor chord chorus too. Nice to see James with the Goldtop Les Paul that Wire bought him for his birthday a few years back.

[Phil C]

Originally Posted by Europa Gluten Free

Some really arsey comments on here.

Or to put it another way - some people have reservations about it and are expressing them, because being a fan doesn't mean you can't be critical.

[darkanddivine]

The nice thing about both tracks, is that they have little details in the music that make it more than just a rinse and repeat. There's a nice bit in Int. Blue where the chords repeat twice under the solo - the only time it happens in the solo.

Originally Posted by Phil C

These days putting a song out for the radio and online video channels is much more important than actually selling them in terms of singles.....

Yup. The whole single-album-single-single-single thing is long gone. The first song off a new album is pretty important - you need a slick release with a vid, get the thing on Spotify the job lot. Everything after that can be whatever you want. Remixes, slow versions (as they have done with IB.) Some artists release a track a week, some release 4 at once, some release the whole album in a drip.

I know some have said that this one is a bit weak, and I'd tend to agree in the main. I think the verse on this track feels a bit weak, but it recovers at the end, and again there are some nice little flicks that make it interesting. Hopefully that's a trend that continues throughout the record. That said, whether it's a good single or not is about as irrelevant as the pop charts themselves. Sure, it's a bit of a weird track to choose. But why not experiment with your singles when 2nd/3rd singles don't matter that much anyway?

[Europa Gluten Free]

Originally Posted by Phil C

Or to put it another way - some people have reservations about it and are expressing them, because being a fan doesn't mean you can't be critical.

Dude, you’re obviously not aware of my posting history.

Sorry to offend those with reservations.

[Takk]

Nice enough, but total b side.

[Frozendiva]

Feelings of a B-side or whatever, it is still new music. Love it, like it, don't like it, hate it.

The band has not become a parody of itself and the members still have a lot of music in them. The old music business model does not exist anymore.

I would think Sean is paying close attention to social media feedback. It is immediate and they can take their lauds and lumps.

Given the current pop and other nature of the charts, getting a guitar band anywhere these days is a good sign.

The Manics keep themselves relevant, they play the music biz game, they sell, and are still invited to festivals and such.

[Porco]

Originally Posted by darkanddivine

The nice thing about both tracks, is that they have little details in the music that make it more than just a rinse and repeat. There's a nice bit in Int. Blue where the chords repeat twice under the solo - the only time it happens in the solo.

I really agree with this. Despite then B-side-ish comments (should I say ‘beside those feelings ) there is a care and attention to detail that B-sides sometimes slightly lack, but that A-sides and album tracks rarely do.

I’ve not played it in detail yet but there seems to be this descending / ascending thing no different guitars going on at the of DC that I love. Also there’s a pretty wildly huge echo on the vocals that makes the whole thing sound like it’s echoing down a valley or something, somewhat in keeping with the themes of the past and the Welsh landscape, which ties it to the video.

Speaking the Welsh landscape, or The Welsh Landscape I was looking up the quotes in the video, and it seems like the 3rd R.S. Thomas quote at the beginning “To live in Wales is to be conscious / At dusk of the spilled blood / That went into the making of the sky” appears to leave out the word “wild” that most versions of the poem I can see online include: “...That went into the making of the wild sky”.
Does anyone know what that is about? Intentional? Mistake? Intentional mistake?

My favourite quote in the DC video is the Aneurin Bevan one at the end though, “You don’t have to gaze into a crystal ball, when you can read an open book”.

Honestly if the whole album is songs like IB and DC I’d be perfectly happy. I am feeling like it might be an album that is greater than the sum of its parts, which is how I feel about *whispers* Lifeblood *whispers*.

[Borderliner]

International Blue (The Bluer Skies Version) and Distant Colours are absolutely amazing XD I'm over the Moon lol