Album 15

[theplague]

Originally Posted by Nicolas De Staël

Short review after listening to the album 7 times in a row...

Critical Thinking: 7.5/10 (This one could've been a huge track, in my opinion, unfortunately the lyrics are delivered in a pretty uninspired way by Mister Wire... Tight, itchy songwriting, nevertheless.)

Decline and Fall: 7.5/10 (Poppy, shiny little tune. Good lyrics.)

Brushstrokes of Reunion: 8.5/10 (A touching set of lyrics and a superb solo cast by Mister Bradfield on this tune... The chorus is a pure blast of melacholic euphoria.)

Hidden In Plain Sight: 7/10 (A bit repetitive for my tastes, though well mixed... Sounds like a PFAYM outtake.)

People Ruin Paintings: 8.5/10 (Nice, ambiguous lyrics combined to a beautiful mellow chorus, that's stuck for good in my head, by now. ...And there's a gorgeous solo packed in it, too!)

Dear Stephen: 9.5/10 (Wow! Elegant songwriting!! There's "Even in Exile" feel to it, which is very appealing to me. :-) A true highlight on CT!)

Being Baptised: 10/10 "I walk out singing a song, ...words of joy and songs of sorrow..." ... ...They've gotten me with this track... I've cried like a baby listening to it the first time. Stunning, epic melodylines and hooks throughout the song, heartfelt lyrics, a gradiose solo and all together just genuinely delivered, to the point, by JBD. There's also an "Even in Exile" shine on this one, as much as on "Dear Stephen". In my opinion, this is the Manics at their very best and the reason why I'm so much in love with them. ...A perfect piece of music!)

My Brave Friend: 7/10 (After the first spin I'd thought that this may the cheesiest piece music they had delivered in their entire carreer, but, actually, just a few spins later, MBF turns out to be a pretty pleasant, though melancholic ballad.)

Out Of Time Revival: 8.5/10 (VERY 80s sounding, with a pounding chorus... Utterly enjoyable! Looking forward to listen to this tune in a car, on a highway, at night.)

Deleted Scenes: 9/10 (Nostalgic lyrics, musically enticing, with a intriguing rhythm section. A further highlight on CT.)

Late Day Peaks: 9.5/10 (Another fave of mine! I can cling to the lyrics in a most peculiar way, in this case. Feels like sitting on a boat on a weary sea, taking all my problems with me. :-D ...)

Onemanmilitia: 6/10 (A bit of a mess (and a miss, too).)


Album rating, so far: 8/10 (Not as good as the throughout excellent TUVL, but a good one.)

Out of curiosity, what are your like 6-7 fav tracks by Manics and how would you rate them? More than 10?

[Marat Sar]

First time listenkng yelp -- Critical Thinkingis incredible. Something completely new and very atriking from them. I love Nicky's strange singsong voice there. So mean and weird.

[Europa Gluten Free]

@Son of Stopped - any sign yet?

[Son of Stopped]

Originally Posted by Europa Gluten Free

@Son of Stopped - any sign yet?

Another 11.30 to 3.30 but a bolder text saying it will be today. Thanks, I'm looking forward to it!

[Europa Gluten Free]

Originally Posted by Son of Stopped

Another 11.30 to 3.30 but a bolder text saying it will be today. Thanks, I'm looking forward to it!

Waiting to hear your review later! Enjoy it!

[Son of Stopped]

Originally Posted by Europa Gluten Free

Waiting to hear your review later! Enjoy it!

Thanks! And hoodie's coming on Monday hopefully. Just read post office email.

[darkanddivine]

Hola! I don't comment much on release days, but the fact I'm here says.... something about the way this release has gone down. It does seem there's a gentle buzz about it which is nice.

As always, my sense with MSP is 15 albums in and decades of fandom - we're closer to the end than the beginning, and hopefully they've already paid out many times in joy and fun and games to make anything at this point a free hit. It's mostly nice they're still here because one day they won't be. It's a bit like a footballer late in their career who makes cameo appearances in really important games. They may not have the dominance and aggression of their youth, but one thing about the Manics that I always admire is their work ethic, regardless of what they put out.

My feeling is that this is a better record than TUVL. While I wouldn't sit it alongside some of the earlier work overall, I'm always here for records that nod strongly to Lifeblood and Truth, which this does in a few places. There are a few songs that sit in the cannon quite nicely, though my current favourite is People Ruin Paintings, closely followed by Brushstrokes of Reunion. I honestly quite like Decline & Fall, certainly over the singles from TUVL. Yeah it's Manics signature sound, but only they can pull that off - so why not I reckon. Having caught it brieflly, Johatsu is really good - sortof reminiscent of All Alone Here and ForeverDelayed. Looks like we can still leave corkers off the album proper! The chords in Being Baptised have shades of TiMT so it feels like they've delved into that indie side of the band a lot more on this one.

Overall, it carries on where TUVL began, but refines those ideas and maybe blends in a sortof warmer version of Lifeblood/Truth which gives it that something extra. Arguably some of the songs on TUVL are higher individual peaks (eg:Complicated Illusions), but the overall quality of the album seems higher throughout for me. Time will tell where it sits of course, but for now it's nice to have that buzz back around the band. Tour is sold out and people seem to be liking it from what I'm hearing, so it's just good to see and hear folks getting more enjoyment out of the band. I'll do a track by track maybe once I've had a few more listens.

[Fabulous Disaster]

Going through the cycle of early listening and really enjoying it, so much depth and intricacy in the sound. The chords in 'Being Baptised' first heard at 01.10 bugged me - where have I heard them before... but I got there eventually, SYMM. Nice to hear them again, I love the little echoes of past songs when an artist gets to this stage of their career.

[Son of Stopped]

1.01pm delivery! Putting the kettle on. T-shirt, tape, signed print and CD intact.
So TUVL the last of the jewel cases then! Speak soon.

[Europa Gluten Free]

New signed tat in the store?

https://store.manicstreetpreachers.c...igned-art-card

[less than zero]

Originally Posted by Fabulous Disaster

Going through the cycle of early listening and really enjoying it, so much depth and intricacy in the sound. The chords in 'Being Baptised' first heard at 01.10 bugged me - where have I heard them before... but I got there eventually, SYMM. Nice to hear them again, I love the little echoes of past songs when an artist gets to this stage of their career.

Those chords bugged me too. Realised they’re identical to the intro of Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now, which is interesting given the previous song.

The album deserves it’s own ‘cribbed from’ thread

[Porco]

Finally got my official store order…

Looking through the pages of the deluxe version I am amused to see we almost got a song called PIE RUIN PAINTINGS.

[TheUglyLie]

Originally Posted by Porco

Finally got my official store order…

Looking through the pages of the deluxe version I am amused to see we almost got a song called PIE RUIN PAINTINGS.

Do we get a genius Porco alt lyric for this? Pretty please!

[Son of Stopped]

And didn't need a piss once. And I look forward to such familiarities enough with the album.
Definitely most guitar orientated album they've done for ages. KYE through a Lifeblood prism.
The instrumental bit after the chorus of the title track made me laugh. Dear Stephen made me grin but did nicely lead into Being Baptised.
And I don't think the outro of ONEMANMILITA (Is it's acronym going to be O?) matches or lives up to the lyrics and I would have ended it on Late Day Peaks.
Bet you the Japanese tracks on the single would have been better album closers? Deleted Scenes was the loudest.
The drumming changed! Sean Moore must be indulged at all costs. The album starts dum dum DPPT but after Being Baptised or during the drumming goes DPPT dum dum.
You see the lyrics but no idea how they'll be sung?
Playing it again. It's 2025 and my neighbours can't do anything to stop this.

EDIT: No seriously. The line about the Cinema matches the clap in Afterending.

[deadmartyr]

Originally Posted by Porco

Finally got my official store order…

Looking through the pages of the deluxe version I am amused to see we almost got a song called PIE RUIN PAINTINGS.

That stood out for me too - wondered if it was a (knowing wink) not really about (or is it) Just Stop Oil song