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Rating: This autumn of 2004 "gifted" us with the return of the two most famous and beloved bands in the world for over a decade (U2 and R.E.M.) with controversial and discordant results. The critics and the public are still divided between those who view these works as a commendable evolution of these bands' style and those who mercilessly give them a thumbs down, accusing them of bourgeoisification and creative exhaustion. The same can easily be said about the comeback album of the Manic Street Preachers, a band that in over ten years of career has practically gone through all the necessary "stations" of a rock 'n' roll band to aspire to the status of "icon." Not excessively acclaimed in Italy, the Manics in Great Britain (and in the "neverland" of fans around the world) are a genuine institution on par with the two previously mentioned groups.
Clearly, the general expectation was quite high, given the flop of the previous "Know Your Enemy" (2001), decidedly uninspired. For this "Lifeblood," James Bradfield & co. have decisively changed direction, definitively abandoning the slogans and the anger of their early works (the ones with Richey James) to embrace the more intimate and melancholic aspect of their music. The result is that "Lifeblood" is without doubt the most accessible album of their entire career: the contribution of the electric guitars is practically nil, and the band embraces pop in the true sense of the word. That is, if in the group's "hard" years the intent was to reach the audience's sensitivity through provocations and the effective weapon of punk, now the attempt is the same but the "instrument" has changed, also because the three Welshmen are no longer 19 years old. The references to the '80s and keyboards à la Keane are evident right from the first track, not coincidentally titled "1985," epic as in the best tradition of the band's songwriting. It must be said that the album sounds bitter, disenchanted and sweetly "understated", and even Bradfield's voice seems almost resigned, although as always clear and intriguing (rumor has it that Tony Visconti is behind this "sonic" shift).
The single "The Love Of Richard Nixon" is quite weak despite the interesting lyrics, and to be honest, it almost seems as though the Manics chase the big hit throughout the album but never find it, and listening does not require much effort given the intentionally "elementary" nature of the songs.
That doesn't mean there aren't clearly beautiful tracks such as the upcoming single "Empty Souls," reminiscent of U2's "New Year's Day," the restless "A Song For Departure" (which brings to mind the Pet Shop Boys!), and the romantic "Emily," the best piece of the album, almost a Style Council unreleased track.
The melodies are pleasant, the lyrics intelligent and reflective, Bradfield's voice is as always a must: it is a pop sometimes a bit mild, this must be said, but it is refined and captivating like few others proposed in the music business. I don't think a song like "Solitude Sometimes Is" would ever appear on a Madonna album. But it's also true that this is an album that may seriously disappoint longtime fans of the Manic Street Preachers, so far from "Generation Terrorists" and the cult favorite "The Holy Bible" and different even from "Everything Must Go". For those who instead follow the group and appreciate its changes and evolution, it is without a doubt a recommended album. I am still a bit undecided, and honestly, I still don't quite know what to think, so in doubt, I give it a full pass but nothing more.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 1985 (04:08)
In 1985
I placed a bet and lied
Losing all that I had
At least with all my heart intact
In 1985
Orwell was proved right
Torville and Dean's Bolero
Redundant as a sad Welsh chapel
In 1985, in 1985
So God is dead
Like Nietzsche said
Superstition is all we have left
Circle the wagons
We're under attack
We've realised there's no going back
We've realised there's no going back
In 1985
The civil war failed why
Kept hidden like scars of birth
Nature unable to soften the words
In 1985
My words they came alive
Friends were made for life
Morrissey and Mar gave me choice
In 1985, in 1985
So God is dead
Like Nietzsche said
Only 16 years of age he said
See all the tears for the walking dead
We've realised there's no going back
We've realised there's no going back
In 1985
I placed a bet and lied
Losing all that I had
06 To Repel Ghosts (03:58)
When the disappearing begins
The ghosts we kept within
Can break free from inside
And untie our blindfold eyes
To repel ghosts
To repel ghosts...
So when the ghosts find you
Be careful but be graceful
For all will be revealed
When ghosts become set free
A soul in pain Has no image to reclaim
To repel ghosts
To repel ghosts
A soul in pain Has no image to reclaim
To repel ghosts
To repel ghosts
Build bridges and not roads
Make love, make hate, make war
A soul in pain Has no image to reclaim
To repel ghosts
To repel ghosts
A soul in pain Has no image to reclaim
To repel ghosts
To repel ghosts
08 Glasnost (03:14)
When did life get so, get so complicated
When did time start, start accelerating
Make life slower
Stop life growing
If we can still fall in love
If we can still fall in love
Embrace with us - make your own Glasnost
And in defeat cling to these words so clear
Humiliations not easily understood
Onto the future
Such messages are burned
If we can still fall in love
If we can still fall in love
Embrace with us - make your own Glasnost
If we can still fall in love
If we can still fall in love
Embrace with us - make your own Glasnost
If we can still fall in love
If we can still fall in love
Embrace with us - make your own Glasnost
09 Always/Never (03:42)
Always, never on my mind
Always, always out of time
Always, always letting someone down
Always, always wanting more
Always, always stand-alone
Always, always getting something wrong
Longing for, it's been a long time longing for
To carry the sky away
Always, never said I've done
Always, always change my mind
Always, always trying to succeed
Always, never facing you
Always, never being true
Always, always gonna be this way
Longing for, it's been a long time longing for
To carry the sky away
Always, never
Always, never
Always, never
Always, never
Always
12 Cardiff Afterlife (03:27)
If the love between us
Has faded away
Left in the rain
Scratching at the stains
The paralysed future
The past sideways crawl
I must give up on this
It makes no sense at all
Makes no sense at all
In the Cardiff afterlife
In the Cardiff afterlife
We sense the breaking of our lives
In the Cardiff afterlife
In the Cardiff afterlife
And yet I kept my silence
Your memory is still mine
No I will not share them
Acquaintance through denial
For I witnessed splendour
And evil that no-one saw
And I felt kindness
And vanity for sure
And vanity for sure
In the Cardiff afterlife
In the Cardiff afterlife
We sensed the breaking of our lives
In the Cardiff afterlife
In the Cardiff afterlife
In the Cardiff afterlife
In the Cardiff afterlife
We sensed the breaking of our lives
In the Cardiff afterlife
In the Cardiff
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By katharsys
"The true essence of the Manics' new musical course lies precisely in combining few, almost sparse, components, in that magical and sublime way."
"'To Repel Ghosts' is the best piece of the album, delivering a shiver down the spine with its perfect mix of riffing and keyboard."
