James Arden checks out the garage rockers latest album.
The Christian rock band from Brighton bring religion to the masses.
Recipe for modern R'n'B album: liberal helpings of guest rappers and an overdose of sexual euphemisms.
Before disappearing, Edwards bequeathed his band a legendary folder containing lyrics and prose. Finally, his last expressions have been put to music creating a wonderful blend of witty lunacy and darkness.
Edwards’ artistic voice resonates. Rather than coherent messages, songs sound like intelligent but nonsensical trains of thought studded with obscure cultural references. ‘Jackie Collins Existentialist Question Time’ typifies such bewildering collections of words. Some may think this pretentious but the nonsense is underlined by genuine comedy and tragedy.
James Dean Bradfield displays characteristic aggression – as in the raw ‘She Bathed Herself In A Bath Of Bleach’ – but not unremittingly. ‘This Joke Sport Severed’ combines mournful violins with heavy drums to create an air of epic tragedy. Inevitably, tragedy features heavily, reaching an intensely emotional conclusion with ‘William’s Last Words’. We are treated to bassist Nicky Wire’s unconventional vocals which, although not immediately to everybody’s taste, are fittingly vulnerable to carry what seems to be Edwards’ version of a suicide note.
For many, this will not reach the critically acclaimed heights of The Holy Bible or satisfy the commercial market like Send Away The Tigers. However, the context gives it eerie significance. The sheer emotion makes listening to and, I presume, recording, it a cathartic experience. Although sometimes heartbreaking, it doesn’t languish in itself. Like Eels’ masterpiece, Electro-Shock Blues (also born of tragedy,) this feels like an album they really had to make.
Manic Street Preachers: Official website | MySpace | on Spotify
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