Review By Paul Taggart
I have a long and storied history with the Manic Street Preachers, I never read the Holy Bible, I listened to it. But that was a long time ago, this is yesterday in the minds of listeners like me, but those sounds are long gone, they died in the summertime. What the Manic Street Preachers have left since 1994 is a topsy turvy legacy of comings and goings, they made a point of never sounding quite the same, up to a point. Since 2000 they’ve done 80s pop, post-punk and a folk record. While they have drifted into middle of the road territory a long time ago, they supported the Killers for fuck sake, their music has always retained an element of passion and soul even if if their recent songs at time resemble Snow Patrol b-sides with a Marxist degree. “Decline And Fall” is a single that came out of nowhere, literally. Announced midweek, it was released late on the 29/8 but since most are fixated on the Oasis reunion I doubt most noticed.
Some might say “Decline And Fall” sounds a lot like the typical 2020s Manics single and they would be right. It is upbeat and slightly cerebral, Decline and Fall is a novel by Evelyn Waugh, and is pretty much typical of recent Manic Street Preachers to its detriment. There is a glistening synth lick and a punchy guitar riff but it does not distinguish itself in any way from anything from the previous album such as “Orwellian” except the guitar is more prominent. It is anthemic but not really memorable sadly. I’m not a fan of “The Ultra Vivid Lament”, I am hoping the next release is not another repeat, some of us are just condemned to rock n’ roll.
They will probably be doing Oasis support dates next year.
Released on Sony Records, 29/8/24
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