Released:
Rating:
This is more than just another album from a band now almost 30 years old.
Label: Columbia
Released: 13th April 2018
Rating: ★★★★
It’s clear from the opening one-two of ‘People Give In’ with its circus-like stomp becoming a romantic swell and ‘International Blue’ with its cliché Manics pomp, this is more than just another album from a band now almost 30 years old. Nicky Wire’s lyrical prowess continues to shine with lines such as “you painted with fire, only the ashes now remain” in ‘International Blue’, combined with James Dean Bradfield’s masterful Welsh vocals continues the band’s penchant for huge yet intimate moments.
‘Sequels of Forgotten Wars’ is traditional Manics with Sean Moore’s drumming underpinning Bradfield’s riffs, while ‘In Eternity’ channels Berlin era Bowie as the band pay tribute to the man himself. Closing track ‘The Left Behind’ sees Wire take the mic for a fitting end to an album which sees the old commie punks turn their attention to a more romantic sound and vision. Josh Williams
