Lifeblood

Like Star Wars and Manchester United any new developments in the world of the Manic Street Preachers is greeted with a rabid speculation from fans that borders on the worryingly obsessive. The release of their seventh studio album is no different, titles were rumoured and dismissed, tracklistings debated and artwork waited on with baited breath. Well the wait is over and ‘Lifeblood' is finally here. Twelve tracks that showcase a reinvention that will provoke as much enthusiastic discussion as the release of ‘Everything Must Go' following the peerless ‘Holy Bible'.

Mercifully for ‘Lifeblood' it follows the rather disappointing ‘Know Your Enemy' (the Manics weakest album), leaving expectations for new material at an all time low. The ragged mess of that album had left many wondering where Blackwood's favourite sons could go next: full blown punk rage or delicate introspection?

The answer is neither, the Manics have, for the first time, been able to truly craft a record that perfectly encapsulates where the band are in the 21st Century. James Dean Bradfield has obviously been taking inspiration from his production duties on indie toddlers Johnny Boy, because on ‘Lifeblood' he's directed the band towards the lush pop that his young charges create with innocent glee. Coupled with lyrics from Nicky Wire that are far less oblique (but no less intelligent) than previous efforts and vocals from Bradfield that, for once, are consistently comprehensible and you have exactly the album that Nicky Wire described to the NME as, “ elegiac pop…a huge lament for world society ”.

Kicking off with the twin electro infused anthems ‘1985' and ‘The Love Of Richard Nixon', it is obvious that this is no ‘Generation Terrorists'. Instead we are treated to New Orderish rhythms and an authoritative statement that, “ we've realised there's no going back ”. Elsewhere ‘To Repel Ghosts' comes across like Mansun when they were still good, ‘Glasnost' is upbeat late summer pop with a gorgeous wash of echoed 80s guitar and ‘Always/Never' has possibly the funkiest Wire bassline ever. The stunning ‘Emily' pays tribute to suffragette heroine Emmeline Pankhurst in typically reverential style, whilst the gorgeous closers ‘Solitude Sometimes Is', ‘Fragments' and ‘Cardiff Afterlife' offer some of the most magnificent Manics moments ever. The highlights though are ‘Empty Souls' and ‘A Song For Departure' a duo of insistent pop classics that see the Manics at the very top of their game. Featuring classic Bradfield vocals and guitar (‘Empty Souls') and a harmony-driven chorus of skyscraping greatness (‘A Song For Departure') they bridge the gap between old and new Manics with breathtaking ease.

‘Lifeblood' will disappoint many. The hardcore Manics fans that still yearn for the raging angst and spitting lyrical brilliance that punctuated their first three records will have to look elsewhere. However for those that loved ‘Everything Must Go' and ‘This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours', this is an album that will delight on every level. “ A ‘Holy Bible' for thirty-five year olds ” we were told to expect, but this is much more than that. ‘Lifeblood' has given the Manics the vital injection they need to carry on being one of the most important bands Britain has ever produced.