Manic Street Preachers – Rewind The Film (2013)

This is the second of the Manics' albums picked up in Falmouth a couple of weeks ago, their 2013 release, intended as a more sedate, acoustic offering.

By all accounts it was well received at the time, let's see how it's held up.

I want to like the Manics, really I do. They hail from my wife's home town of Blackwood, I'm completely in sympathy with their political stance on most things, and I'm delighted to hear them shout it loud. When they get it right (to my untrained ears), they really hit the nail on the head, but at times the songs just don't feel as strong as I'd like.

I just don't think this album is very good. It has lots to recommend it on paper. The political lyrics are still there, there are some great guests - Lucy Rose on opener This Sullen Welsh Heart, a limp beginning; Richard Hawley on title track Rewind The Film, a plodding number overrun by strings, and only coming to life when James Bradfield takes over vocals; Cate Le Bon on the unremarkable 4 Lonely Roads - but for me, the songs feel vague, and without the impact of much earlier work, even compared to the Lifeblood album, about which I was lukewarm.

Later on, 3 Ways To See Despair is probably the highpoint of the album, and final track 30 Year War feels much stronger than most of what precedes it, but this album isn't up there with MSP's great albums.

Link to album tracks

2* - a disappointing effort, with only a couple of tracks that feel like the Manics in form