Niki N. Phaser

Well, it is pretty much official: Manic Street Preachers have done it again. Journal for Plague Lovers, their latest album, is neither a comeback, nor a return to early days, despite the several connections between this album and The Holy Bible (1994). It is just perfect. It is true, is less piano, strings and synth than Lifeblood (2004), but the exquisite riffs at the core of their latest effort show that they are more sure of themselves than they have ever been. They are an electric guitar band and Send Away the Tigers (2007) gave them just the right push to embrace that identity.

Still, fans of Lifeblood and This is My Truth Tell Me Yours, there are no reasons to worry. Tracks like This Joke Sport Severed, Doors Closing Slowly and Facing Page: Top Left offer plenty of melancholic moments. We can also include here the closing number, William’s Last Words, with vocals by Nicky Wire. Considering the beauty of older B-side Dying Breeds, the return is more than welcomed. Hopefully, this direction will be further investigated.

But, let’s go back to the heavy stuff. Jackie Collins Existensial Question Time is the first single and its sing-along main riff will surely earn spots in “best riff” tops in the years to follow. There is some britpop urgency in tracks like All is Vanity or the title track, but Me and Stephen Hawking or Pretension/Repulsion are pure Manics. More than of The Holy Bible, some of these songs remind us of Generation Terrorists (1992), the band’s date of birth.

The real highlights of the album, if we can really be so heartless as to choose, are Virginia State Epileptic Colony and Marlon JD. The first has it all: it’s schizo-weird in subtle places, then it goes all nostagia on us in the chorus and all of is placed on a splash filled beat by Sean Moore. Marlon JD is one of few Manics songs to be written just by Nicky Wire and it prooves once more that he’s been learning all those years assisting James Dean Bradfield. Marlon JD, the only song on the album to be “helped” by a drum machine, is pure energy. As you might have guessed, it is about Marlon Brando, who makes a “guest appearence” on the track. The JD might be James Dean, but we’ll never know… It’s quite the paradox, that a song written by Wire holds some of Bradfield’s most powerful vocals. Those people who think shouting is not real music, should give Marlon JD a listen. It’s punk for intellectuals.

No, don’t worry, I will not end my review without saying a few words about the lyrics. They are authored by Manics’ guardian angel, Richey Edwards. You will remember them. Some of you will get tatoos of them, others will fill their school desks with them. It is the lyrics that are a nod to the past, because they have that unmistakable filthy intellectual ramblings nature that spawned lines like “He’s a boy, you want a girl so tear off his cock Tie his hair in bunches, fuck him, call him Rita if you want” from the classic Yes.

We can only wonder (and worry) how will the Manics be able to top this one ? Or is this going to be that one perfect album, after which they will disband, the masterpiece they were dreaming of when they started ?