Manic Street Preachers – Critical Thinking review

The thing with a mid life crisis is that eventually, you’re just over it. Now thirty five years plus into a career whose longevity has surprised nobody more than themselves, the Manic Street Preachers are at a stage in life where they can metaphorically go down the shops in a dressing gown and slippers and not care one single bit.

The signs in fairness have been there for a while. Their last album The Ultra Vivid Lament was filled with references to twentieth century icons like ABBA and Simple Minds, but it’s icy comportment was hard to engage wholly with. Critical Thinking though has some of the lyrical piss-and-vinegar of their earlier work, without the junky punk ephemera; this is the trio at maximum philosophical speed, it’s that the rubber hits a different road now.

This passing of time is reflected on melancholy Hiding In Plain Sight, one of three tracks that Nicky Wire wrote and for the first time sings on, the most meaningful point the regretful stanza “I wanna be in love with the man I used to be/In a decade I felt free”. The best part about being a rock and roll codger though is your prerogative to have a little fun, as the titular opening track shows, Wire using it to rail against “Smart fucking motorways” amongst other pieces of modernist toss.

There’s some greatness here too, as Deleted Scenes and People Ruin Paintings dare you to issue any bus pass snark, whilst the the burning effigy of himself Morrissey is invited to grow the hell up on Dear Stephen. Such is their status that the old man shouting at clouds polemical of closer OneManMilitia can be glossed over – and in all Critical Thinking is the sound a post mid-life crisis that can only mean a Harley Davidson comes next.

You can read a full review here.