Tag: Manic Street Preachers

Critical Thinking

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MANIC STREET PREACHERS – CRITICAL THINKING – ALBUM REVIEW

‘Critical Thinking’ is the fifteenth album from Welsh icons Manic Street Preachers. A run that started back in 1992 with ‘Generation Terrorists’ has seen the band releasing a new album a least every four years, and whilst there may be peaks and troughs, somehow the band has never released a dreadful record!

That is some achievement and – spoiler alert – ‘Critical Thinking’ is certainly not going to buck that trend. Keeping things interesting when this prolific as a recording group must be the most difficult aspect of maintaining course. Both for themselves as creators and their fanbase as consumers.

This album takes an interesting pathway from the very beginning as Nicky Wire takes on lead vocals for the albums title-track. His direct lyrics have renewed vigour and the track sounds like New Order writing a Pink Floyd song!

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Pre-release singles ‘Decline & Fall’ and ‘Brushstrokes of Reunion’ are more recognisable as modern-day Manic Street Preachers offerings and together are a hell of a start for this collection.

This album actually features three tracks with lead vocals provided by the mercurial Wire and both ‘Hiding in Plain Sight’ and album closer ‘OneManMilitia’ standout on what eventually does blend somewhat as another solid but standard Manics release.

That though is a backwards complement, because the reason that each of their albums starts the feel eerily similar is because they are all so well written and enacted. Whilst the ferocity and urgency of some of their earlier work may not bite the same way, this is a naturally mature and more methodical group who are still able to drive a point home.

‘Critical Thinking’ therefore has the undertones of classic Manics, the shine of their more glamorous work and an overarching beauty which always seems to befall one of the greatest bands of their generation.

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