Artist: Manic Street Preachers
Title: Rewind The Film
Genre: Alternative Rock
Release Date: 6th September 2013
Label: Smi Col (Sony Music)
Album Review
I will turn up a trick here, a trick of narcissism or laziness or both or none, I will quote myself to introduce the band in the centre of this review: “MANIC STREET PREACHERS (MSP) started out as a punk rock band, lost a member (Flicker) when they’ve tried to go more mainstream and gained another, Richey James Edwards, who shifted them back to the punk attitude, radical lyrics and harder sounds. After his mysterious disappearance in 1995 (Edwards was legally pronounced thirteen years later as deceased) they oscillated between their post-punk, grungy, hard rock sounds, leftist roots and selling out.” This was to introduce their previous LP ‘Postcards From A Young Man’, that I, needless to say, slaughtered and from which you could have made a conclusion that MSP - Richey James Edwards wasn’t a band I was enamoured of. Mostly because I felt they were posing as something they no longer were. They seem to have shorn this and so I can finally applaud their effort - their commentary that has always had a political edge has lost the preaching it felt to have with the last album.
There’s sincerity again and talking at the level here. Moreover, it’s pushed behind by the music itself enough not having to pay it much attention if one doesn’t feel inclined to listen to lyrics anyhow. This sincerity is achieved by pushing the guitars into warmer field of acoustic; it somehow feels to express itself more as truer to the heart in their case and it also fits with settling score with closing on in time to death and settling score with the times that formed them. Also, it shows that a song that could have been a hit can remain anthemic even in this quieter setting -‘This Sullen Welsh Heart’ (feat. Lucy Rose). You’ll also hear some brass-propped up “hits” as ‘Show Me The Wonder’ which are pleasant in their throwback feel and yet nicely modern at the same time. Best part of the album starts with ‘Rewind the Film (feat. Richard Hawley)’, which is a song so fittingly cinematic and melancholy and where the commentary falls right into the track, subtle and yet powerful. When it comes to the especially political ’30 Year War’ also hits the chord now and fits the anger risen by the followers of Thatcher in governments we had since. In short, MSP has risen back into my esteem. Though they managed to be accessible to mainstream this time it doesn’t sound as if they sold themselves out in the process. Great stuff!
Tracklist
01. This Sullen Welsh Heart (feat. Lucy Rose)
02. Show Me The Wonder
03. Rewind the Film (feat. Richard Hawley)
04. Builder of Routines
05. 4 Lonely Roads (feat. Cate Le Bon)
06. (I Miss the) Tokyo Skyline
07. Anthem for a Lost Cause
08. As Holy as the Soil (that Buries Your Skin)
09. 3 Ways to See Despair
10. Running out of Fantasy
11. Manorbier
12. 30 Year War
Line-up
James Dean Bradfield - lead vocals, guitar
Nicky Wire - bass, backing vocals, lead vocals on ‘The Future Has Been Here 4Ever’
Sean Moore - drums, percussions, trumpet
Websites
http://www.manicstreetpreachers.com / http://www.myspace.com/manics / https://www.facebook.com/manicstreetpreachers
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 9
Sound: 9
Total: 9 / 10
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