Manic Street Preachers – The Ultra Vivid Lament (2021)

The final Manics' purchase from last month's Cornwall holiday is this 2021 release. I ran out of vaguely interesting things to say about the Manic Street Preachers long ago, so let's crack on.

It's what you'd expect - a series of upbeat, politically charged songs, if anything brighter and more accessible than earlier releases.

Not-a-hit single Orwellian is the most interesting of the early songs here, and The Secret He Had Missed with guest vocalist Julia Cumming is catchy, as is Don't Let The Night Divide Us. At a slower pace, Don't Let The Night Divide Us gets better with listening. There's a guest vocal appearance from Screaming Trees' Mark Lanegan on the otherwise uninspired Blank Diary Entry, and the album ends brightly with the upbeat Happy Bored Alone, and the more pedestrian Afterending.

It's another Manics album, a decent listen in the moment, but not much is staying in the memory afterwards. I've probably overdosed on the band over the past month or so, so I'll be generous with the rating for this, and allow VAR to do it's job down the line.

Link to full album

3* - yet another Manics album, pleasant without inspiring.