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Know Your Enemy loses all its momentum when Manic Street Preachers decide that they have something to say.
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The record is such a sprawling, unwieldy beast that the instrumental hooks take time to emerge.
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Know Your Enemy is a fine -- if slightly long and somewhat fractured -- primer to the moods of one of Britain's most (self) important bands
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A bit of judicious pruning to remove the filler tracks would have resulted in a cohesive, dynamic album that would have easily been their best release to date.
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Cull the arrogance, the laziness, the ill-considered ignorance, the (that word yet again) sneering, and there wouldn't be a better album than Know Your Enemy, and not just of this year. Cull the brave lyrics, the moments of inspiration, the songs to treasure and the moments of honesty and, were it available in dogfood form, you wouldn't feed Know Your Enemy to your hounds.
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Know Your Enemy finds the Manics attempting to write a protest song in just about every genre. This project, stretched out over 16 tracks and 75 minutes, quickly reaches epic proportions, with an ambition approached only by the magnitude of its flaws.
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Alternative PressIf 1987-era U2 is your bag, you'll dig it. [Jul 2001, p.74]
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Nowhere amidst all the confusion is there even a worthwhile tune to be salvaged. Hideously dull.
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When it works, this can be pretty invigorating, but when it doesn't, it's utterly maddening.
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While the group's last two records have been majestic, pretentious, and overly polished, this one is more urgent and inviting, running the gamut from Beach Boys whimsy to Jesus And Mary Chain bluster.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 22 out of 26
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Mixed: 2 out of 26
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Negative: 2 out of 26
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Mar 8, 2023
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Sep 28, 2020Dismal effort that is devoid of everything that long-time fans of MSP enjoy.
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JuliaASep 15, 2006