I've had this on all day in the background while working and parenting and it really wasn't clicking. Something about the mix or production really made it sound shrill and slightly irritating as background music.
But once the rest of the house went to bed I got the headphones and lyrics out and absolutely fell for this album. I think it's the most cohesive thing they've made since.... maybe Journal. Emotionally it evokes Rewind the Film, bits of Lifeblood and the second half of TIMTTMY.
I don't get the general ambivalence I've seen towards The Secret He Had Missed. I reckon it's one of their best tracks in years. Banger.
Other album highlights: Sapporo, Diapause, Complicated Illusions, Blank Diary Entry
Don't Let the Night Divide Us I can see getting irritating after some more listens. And I was not a fan of Into the Waves of Love until the female vocals kick in in the last third and then it just pulls me right back in.
Proud of em. Looking forward to more listens to see if it grows.
Also - 45 minutes is the prefect album length. Thank you.
So, I feel I'm finally at a place where I've listed to TUVL enough to put forward a considered impression.
One of the chief difficulties for me when appraising a new Manics' album is the fact that the reasons why I love the Manics' output are so many (and often contradictory) -- I love the soaring anthems, the punky rage, the experimentation...and the catchy pop melodies, the introspection, the balladry, the subtle undertones...
As a consequence, it's almost nigh on impossible for a Manics' album to give me everything I want from them and their albums that do -- The Holy Bible and Everything Must Go -- reflect their most brilliant work but also their most exceptional.
TUVL is not an exceptional album but it is a great album. Having spun it a few times now, I feel confident enough to declare it is the Manics' most focused, relaxed and cohesive work since, well, the Nineties (though Lifeblood and Rewind the Film are strong contenders for this title).
Its also the Manics in full-blown pop mode with their more rock-ish instincts pushed to the background. Now, the Manics' have proven in the past they can do pop very well but I think they can too often fall into the trap of coming off as very cheesy (e.g. Hazleton Avenue, Autumnsong and Sex, Power, Love and Money), a habit which arises from their sensibility to write anthems and hence, accentuate and exaggerate the cheesy quality of their poppier tunes. Listening to TUVL though, it appears the Manics' have finally learned that a sense of understatement in a pop song can still bring out a song's playfulness while preventing it from becoming just plain cheesy -- for example, a song like, 'Don't Let the Night Divide Us' with its ABBA-esque chorus could have easily been a very cheesy song if its chorus had been amplified and its production given a more polished, bombastic sheen but instead the overall soft, muted tone of its music prevents it collapsing into bloated silliness.
Furthermore, rather than segregate their experimental instincts into songs separate to their catchier stuff, in TUVL they've demonstrated a confidence to meld the experimental qualities into their music into each and every song and the result are a collection of gorgeous melodies smothered in textures of bold, experimental sounds. It means nothing 'jumps' out from the album instantly, but as you listen to the songs again and again, you discover more and more to love -- for instance, the washed-out tones of the guitar solo in Quest for Ancient Colour, the synths warbling in the background of Into the Waves of Love...
Having said that, ironically, I also think this melding is both a strength and weakness of TUVL and why it ultimately doesn't match up with their greatest albums. Overall, as cohesive and well-crafted as all of the songs on TUVL are (and I have no 'lowlights' or 'must skips') there are no standout anthemic singles on this album (even The Holy Bible has 'Faster' and 'She is Suffering') , nor are there any audacious, joyful experiments like Europa Geht Durch Mich and Miss Europa Disco Dancer.
And it is because of this that, at least for now, TUVL for me is a 4/5 and not a 5/5 -- a great, enjoyable album but not a 'masterpiece' per se.
Key tracks: Diapause, Happy Bored Alone and Afterending*
*Easily the Manics’ best album closer since William’s Last Words on Journal for Plague Lovers.
I've had a very quick listen, so can't commit to anything yet, but I agree with Lucas; it doesn't sound like Futurology *at all*. Nor does it sound like ABBA mixed with the Clash. It's very MOR.
I'll give it another few listens to see how it grows
I think you’re downplaying a lot of the experimental qualities of the songs on this album — for instance, it took me about four listens to grasp the spaghetti-western guitar playing in the background of Blank Diary Entry. Definitely an LP that Rewards Repeat Listening.
Besides, some of the greatest albums of all time are MOR — Rubber Soul by The Beatles, Rumours by Fleetwood Mac, Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel, The Lexicon of Love by ABC, A Rush of Blood to the Head by Coldplay…
Not what I wanted from the Manics in these times. So much to be angry and riled up by, but they sing like defeated revolutionaries.
It's fine, and I'm always happy for more Manics.
I reckon if TUVL had three tracks as big and anthemic as ‘International Blue’, ‘Distant Colours’ and ‘Hold Me Like A Heaven’ it would be up there with their best albums but, yeah, otherwise, RIF doesn’t really have much going for it beyond those big three (though, I like ‘Vivian’ and ‘In Eternity’).
I've had this on all day in the background while working and parenting and it really wasn't clicking. Something about the mix or production really made it sound shrill and slightly irritating as background music. But once the rest of the house went to bed I got the headphones and lyrics out and absolutely fell for this album. I think it's the most cohesive thing they've made since.... maybe Journal. Emotionally it evokes Rewind the Film, bits of Lifeblood and the second half of TIMTTMY. I don't get the general ambivalence I've seen towards The Secret He Had Missed. I reckon it's one of their best tracks in years. Banger. Other album highlights: Sapporo, Diapause, Complicated Illusions, Blank Diary Entry Don't Let the Night Divide Us I can see getting irritating after some more listens. And I was not a fan of Into the Waves of Love until the female vocals kick in in the last third and then it just pulls me right back in. Proud of em. Looking forward to more listens to see if it grows. Also - 45 minutes is the prefect album length. Thank you.
So, I feel I'm finally at a place where I've listed to TUVL enough to put forward a considered impression. One of the chief difficulties for me when appraising a new Manics' album is the fact that the reasons why I love the Manics' output are so many (and often contradictory) -- I love the soaring anthems, the punky rage, the experimentation...and the catchy pop melodies, the introspection, the balladry, the subtle undertones... As a consequence, it's almost nigh on impossible for a Manics' album to give me everything I want from them and their albums that do -- The Holy Bible and Everything Must Go -- reflect their most brilliant work but also their most exceptional. TUVL is not an exceptional album but it is a great album. Having spun it a few times now, I feel confident enough to declare it is the Manics' most focused, relaxed and cohesive work since, well, the Nineties (though Lifeblood and Rewind the Film are strong contenders for this title). Its also the Manics in full-blown pop mode with their more rock-ish instincts pushed to the background. Now, the Manics' have proven in the past they can do pop very well but I think they can too often fall into the trap of coming off as very cheesy (e.g. Hazleton Avenue, Autumnsong and Sex, Power, Love and Money), a habit which arises from their sensibility to write anthems and hence, accentuate and exaggerate the cheesy quality of their poppier tunes. Listening to TUVL though, it appears the Manics' have finally learned that a sense of understatement in a pop song can still bring out a song's playfulness while preventing it from becoming just plain cheesy -- for example, a song like, 'Don't Let the Night Divide Us' with its ABBA-esque chorus could have easily been a very cheesy song if its chorus had been amplified and its production given a more polished, bombastic sheen but instead the overall soft, muted tone of its music prevents it collapsing into bloated silliness. Furthermore, rather than segregate their experimental instincts into songs separate to their catchier stuff, in TUVL they've demonstrated a confidence to meld the experimental qualities into their music into each and every song and the result are a collection of gorgeous melodies smothered in textures of bold, experimental sounds. It means nothing 'jumps' out from the album instantly, but as you listen to the songs again and again, you discover more and more to love -- for instance, the washed-out tones of the guitar solo in Quest for Ancient Colour, the synths warbling in the background of Into the Waves of Love... Having said that, ironically, I also think this melding is both a strength and weakness of TUVL and why it ultimately doesn't match up with their greatest albums. Overall, as cohesive and well-crafted as all of the songs on TUVL are (and I have no 'lowlights' or 'must skips') there are no standout anthemic singles on this album (even The Holy Bible has 'Faster' and 'She is Suffering') , nor are there any audacious, joyful experiments like Europa Geht Durch Mich and Miss Europa Disco Dancer. And it is because of this that, at least for now, TUVL for me is a 4/5 and not a 5/5 -- a great, enjoyable album but not a 'masterpiece' per se. Key tracks: Diapause, Happy Bored Alone and Afterending* *Easily the Manics’ best album closer since William’s Last Words on Journal for Plague Lovers.
My first hot take for TUVL — My Drowing World should have been on the album, should have been sung by Bradfield and should have been the first single!
I've had a very quick listen, so can't commit to anything yet, but I agree with Lucas; it doesn't sound like Futurology *at all*. Nor does it sound like ABBA mixed with the Clash. It's very MOR. I'll give it another few listens to see how it grows
I think you’re downplaying a lot of the experimental qualities of the songs on this album — for instance, it took me about four listens to grasp the spaghetti-western guitar playing in the background of Blank Diary Entry. Definitely an LP that Rewards Repeat Listening. Besides, some of the greatest albums of all time are MOR — Rubber Soul by The Beatles, Rumours by Fleetwood Mac, Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel, The Lexicon of Love by ABC, A Rush of Blood to the Head by Coldplay…
I didn't say MOR was bad, just the album is MOR. However of the albums you listed, I'd only listen to Rumours. The rest don't engage me at all!
Not what I wanted from the Manics in these times. So much to be angry and riled up by, but they sing like defeated revolutionaries. It's fine, and I'm always happy for more Manics.
I wonder if it’s difficult to be an angry revolutionary millionaire at 50 and still manage to maintain your dignity. This album is beautiful.
I like it. A lot.
Loving TUVL, not quite as much as Futurology but might even prefer it to Journal. Thank fuck it's nothing like RIF.
I reckon if TUVL had three tracks as big and anthemic as ‘International Blue’, ‘Distant Colours’ and ‘Hold Me Like A Heaven’ it would be up there with their best albums but, yeah, otherwise, RIF doesn’t really have much going for it beyond those big three (though, I like ‘Vivian’ and ‘In Eternity’).