- Record Label: Columbia
- Release Date: Sep 21, 2010
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The Welsh agit-poppers' tenth album isn't terrible--certainly not as listless or confused as Lifeblood--but it does sound lazy, lyrically and sonically.
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For a band so obsessed with invoking their past, you do wish the Manics weren't so reluctant to throw in a bit of the old grit and ardour. It's a very nicely put together record, but there are moments so far away from the music that drew you to this band in the first place that you wonder if it's wrong to question what you're actually doing here.
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MojoStrings, gospel choirs, outeros inspired by Queen--the Manics' 10th album cranks up the drama, but in their hands grandiose needn't be a dirty word. [Oct 2010, p.94]
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This lack of organic feeling, when paired with the continuous mention of "commercial" aims, becomes troubling.
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For all the furious posturing, the message is veneered too neatly with streamlined riffs and swamped too deep in nice-as-pie orchestral melodies. Seething rants seem to pack more of a punch when the product is less polished, and tend to get lost when bookended with excessively opulent trappings. This is rock music, after all.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 14 out of 17
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Mixed: 3 out of 17
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Negative: 0 out of 17
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Mar 8, 2023
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Apr 19, 2011
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Oct 25, 2010This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view.