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Manic Street Preachers - Futurology (Album Review)

Thursday, 10 July 2014 Written by Simon Ramsay

Few bands are brave enough to take turns into new territory nearly 30 years into a successful career, and even less do so by forging retro-futuristic records inspired by painters, philosophers and a German expressionist art movement. With renewed fire and a desire to experiment in their bellies, Manic Street Preachers have created a masterful album by doing just that.

Although 'Futurology' was recorded at the same time as 2013’s beautifully sombre 'Rewind The Film', it's a very different animal, boasting a collection of decidedly odd tunes that hurl the band into exhilarating new landscapes populated by optimism and eclecticism.  

Recorded at Berlin's legendary Hansa Studios with 'Holy Bible' collaborator Alex Silva, the record melds the influences of Krautrock, Simple Minds, Can, David Bowie, Public Image Ltd, Tangerine Dream and Robert Fripp together with spectacular results.

The journey begins with the title track, its glossy fanfare of keyboards providing the base for what follows - a promise to weather the storm and keep fighting: “One day we will return, no matter how much it hurts...and it hurts.”

Walk Me To The Bridge then ignites proceedings as its ticking clock bass line explodes with euphoric synth bursts. Nicky Wire has claimed that it's about his renewed desire to keep playing after crossing the breathtaking Øresundsbron bridge that connects Malmö to Copenhagen, but naturally the spectre of Richey Edwards looms large in the lyrics.

The band are wickedly subversive throughout, with Let's Go To War's eerie bed of unsettling ambience, protest rally chorus and sinister guitar licks sounding like PiL tackling Grieg's In The Hall Of The Mountain King. Furthermore, The Next Jet To Leave Moscow takes sarcastic swipes at their own history: “So you played in Cuba, did you like it brother? I bet you felt so proud, you silly little fucker.” Meanwhile, Sex, Power, Love and Money's Nirvana-like riff, semi-rapped vocal and massive chorus is a crazy concoction of spiky pop-rock abandon.

Momentum, exploration and adventure drip feed 'Futurology', as the transformative power of art, architecture and geography are utilised to inspire thoughts of a future beyond the mundane and corrupt. The radiantly emotional Black Square - inspired by Russian artist Kazmir Malevich - claims: “Art is never modern for art is eternal.”

The Manics are preaching about artistic expression drawing a line in the sand and allowing you to start again. Likewise, the enchanting Between The Clock And The Bed references a haunting Edvard Munch self-portrait and features Green Gartside of Scritti Politi adding poignantly reflective tones to its struggle for a moral existence.

It's fitting that an album so inspired by paintings boasts such an exquisitely textured sonic canvas, with each song illustrated by atmospheric embellishments, drum loops, electronic effects and sequencers that enhance the emotional impact without overshadowing the tunes.

Just listen to the bombastic brilliance of instrumental sci-fi colossus Dreaming A City (Hugheskova), Divine Youth's celestial sparkle, Misguided Missile's weirdly symphonic stadium Krautrock and The View From Stow Hill's earthy mysticism to appreciate the wonderfully executed orchestration.

Lyrical symbolism abounds too, continually reinforcing the forward thinking aesthetic with images of places, roads and transportation, while the propulsive trajectory is provided by Sean Moore's infectious rhythms and Wire's unstoppable bass.  

Nothing exemplifies that better than the mesmerising Europa Geht Durch Mich. It's a march with siren blasts punctuating its Goldfrapp-gone-Krautrock dynamic. German actress Nina Hoss delivers menacingly seductive robotic vocals, while James Dean Bradfield searches for salvation in the exciting possibilities offered by alien territories.

The record closes with a carnival-esque instrumental dance titled Mayakovsky. Named after a poet who belonged to a Russian futurist movement that rejected traditional elements in favour of formal experimentation - welcoming and embracing the social change promised by new technologies - it concludes this mesmerising trek perfectly.

'Futurology’ is a deliberately challenging album that only increases in value and impact with repeated listens. The quality, confidence and energy with which the intellectual concepts, reference points and musical influences are brought together is incredible, and reminds us just how endearingly special the Manics are.

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