Rocktrospectiva: The Relevant And Brilliant "The Ultra Vivid Lament" Turns 5

Released on 10 September 2021 "The Ultra Vivid Lament" was the 14th., studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. Preceded by two supporting singles, "Orwellian" and "The Secret He Had Missed", the album features contributions from Julia Cumming and Mark Lanegan. It was received well by critics, and debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart.

The album represented a departure from their 2018 effort Resistance Is Futile. The album announcement made clear that the new record would avoid tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, with Bradfield clearly stating that doing that would just "add insult to injury". Furthermore, about writing in lockdown, James said: "The escape was literally checking to see that the world around you wasn't crumbling when you wrote a song. Lockdown had the element of a waking dream for a lot of people, especially the first one last year. Writing music was a way of pinching myself to say, 'There's still a part of life that works in the same way that it did, albeit in a strange way'". Wire shared that he coped well with this issue: "I'm a very patient and lonely person," he admits. "I can deal with isolation and have always embraced utter boredom quite easily. You see the tragedy and agony unfolding around you and it feels a bit glib to say something like that".

Another event that affected the process of making the album was the death of both of Wire's parents. Having been sick during the making of Resistance Is Futile, his father died in the summer after its release. Wire said: "Having the parents that I had is probably the greatest thing that ever happened in my life. I really liked them; I didn't just love them. I liked talking to them, I'd speak to them every day. They were highly engaged, important, funny people." He credited them with his best traits: "Rage from my dad, he was a mental and physical force. And from my mum, kindness and femininity, an appreciation of aesthetic and the bliss of just sitting down and watching TV together".

While Bradfield learned to play piano during the lockdown, Wire's approach to the lyrical side changed, becoming more introspective and personal: "The lockdown pushed me into facing my own horrors, rather than the horrors outside." The songs that emerged from those sessions, which make up the album "are internal galaxies, of exploration within myself. I think they're the most personal lyrics I've ever written." Also having to confront the loss of his parents, it "allowed me to go deep into myself", the loss "overhung the lyrics". Musically, Wire stated: "I think it's got traces of Lifeblood and Futurology, but I think it is a step into a new dimension. It's got the high modernism of Futurology and the underplayed, glacial power of Lifeblood. It's very much framed within ABBA's 'Waterloo' and Echo & the Bunnymen's 'Bring On the Dancing Horses'." He concluded: "I'm not going to pretend that we're reinventing the wheel in terms of modernity, but it's definitely framed within that era of time." 

The band revealed that there were not many songs to pick from for the new record. Wire reflected: "If it didn't feel like it could be on the album, we were either dumping it or stowing it away so there's three or four. There's one James wrote called 'Eternalised' that he didn't think was up to the mark. The two extra tracks on the Japanese version of the album are really good actually. 'My Drowning World' in particular. There's one I wrote called 'Time of Reckoning' which didn't make the cut either. But we weren't writing masses and masses".

The Ultra Vivid Lament received generally positive reviews from critics. Although some medias said the record has its flaws – the odd misguided lyric, the occasional slip into by-numbers pop melodies – but there's plenty of space for those mistakes to be made... In the end, they are minor bumps in a record of intense beauty, among the best of the Manics' records this century". Thanks to the brilliance of The Ultra Vivid Lament, Manic Street Preachers remain as relevant as ever. They still matter.

 

The Ultra Vivid Lament Track List:  

 

1. Still Snowing In Sapporo

2. Orwellian

3. The Secret He Had Missed (featuring Julia Cumming)

4. Quest For Ancient Colour

5. Don't Let The Night Divide Us

6. Diapause

7. Complicated Illusions

8. Into The Waves Of Love

9. Blank Diary Entry (featuring Mark Lanegan)

10. Happy Bored Alone

11. Afterending

Rocktrospectiva: One Of Britpop's Finest Released "Everything Must Go" Turns 30

Released on 20 May 1996 "Everything Must Go" was the 4th., studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was the first record released as a trio, following the disappearance of lyricist and rhythm guitarist Richey Edwards.

Released at the height of Britpop in the mid-1990s, the album was a commercial and critical success, it reached its peak in the UK on separate occasions, debuting and peaking at number 2 in the UK Albums Chart and earned the band accolades in the 1997 Brit Awards. It represented a shift in the group's sound due to Edwards' departure. The album charted in mainland Europe, Asia and Australia, eventually selling over two million copies, the album spawned four singles "A Desing For Life", "Everything Must Go", "Kevin Carter", "Further Away" & "Australia."

According to singer-songwriter James Dean Bradfield said that the sound of the drums was crucial on the album to set the tone. He was inspired by the works of several bands, "I loved records like Pornography by The Cure and Joy Division records and Wire records and Magazine records and Siouxsie and the Banshees records and Wah! records and Associates records where everything starts with the drums". Producer Mike Hedges was the person the group had in mind since The Holy Bible in part for his production role on Siouxsie and the Banshees' single "Swimming Horses" of which Bradfield was a fan.

The working title of the album was Sounds in the Grass, named after a series of paintings by Jackson Pollock. Everything Must Go takes its name from a play by Patrick Jones, Nicky Wire's brother. Everything Must Go represents a change of style for the band. Their previous album, The Holy Bible, had been a stark, disturbing album with a minimal amount of instrumentation, whilst this album embraces synths and strings with an anthemic rock style, has a more commercial feel and fits with the Britpop movement that was prevalent at the time.

The lyrical focus of the album is also shifted, due in part to Edwards' departure. Instead of introspective and autobiographical tracks such as "4st 7lb", Wire's predilection for historical and political themes dominates; however, five songs feature Edwards' lyrics – the last time his lyrics would feature in a Manics album until 2009's Journal for Plague Lovers.

Subjects tackled on the album include the life of photographer Kevin Carter, in the song of the same name; Willem de Kooning in "Interiors"; and the maltreatment of animals in captivity in "Small Black Flowers That Grow in the Sky" (which is a quote from the film The Best Years of Our Lives). The latter track, with lyrics by Edwards, can also be interpreted as an exploration of his mental state before his disappearance; the line "Here chewing your tail is joy" for instance may be as much about Edwards's self-harm as it is the tormented self-injury of zoo animals.

Part of the rhythm guitar on "No Surface All Feeling" was recorded by Edwards before his disappearance, making it only the second time that Edwards' guitar-work was present on a Manic Street Preachers recorded track (the other instance being "La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh)" on Gold Against the Soul). Bradfield typically performs all the guitar parts for their recordings.

The album remains a critical success, an important album in Manic Street Preachers' career, and a classic of the British music in the 1990s, reviews said the album managed to combine the more accessible sound of their early years with the vivid imagery of their previous album. Somehow lumped into the latter stages of Britpop at the time, this record remains one of the decade's finest releases and is an essential listen.

 

Everything Must Go Track List:  

 

1. Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier  

2. A Design For Life

3. Kevin Carter

4. Enola/Alone

5. Everything Must Go

6. Small Blakc Flowers That Grow in the Sky 

7. The Girl Who Wanted To Be God

8. Removables

9. Australia

10. Interiores (Song For Willem De Kooning)

11. Further Away

12. No Surface All Feeelig

Rocktrospectiva:The Odd And Confused "Know Your Enemy" Turns 25

Released on 19 March 2001 "Know Your Enemy" was the 6th., studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was supported by four singles, "So Why So Sad", "Found That Soul", "Ocean Spray" & "Let Robeson Sing", all of which reached the top 20 of the UK singles chart.

The band originally envisioned Know Your Enemy as two separate albums with very different sounds and concepts, with the intention of releasing both on the same day. The record label vetoed the idea and a compromise was made, resulting in a single, lengthy, very diverse record. Whilst the album sold well, it did not match the success of its predecessor, This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours. Critics were somewhat divided in their opinions at first, but its reception since has been more positive.

The origins of the record began when drummer Sean Moore stated in an interview with a Spanish reporter in 2014 that the songs included on Know Your Enemy were originally intended for two separate albums: Door to the River, which consisted of more reflective and personal material, and the heavier, more politically charged Solidarity, with the intention of releasing both on the same day. The record label was not inclined to put out two albums at the same time (they would feel the same in 2013–2014 with Rewind the Film and Futurology) and so most of the material was released as one lengthy, highly varied, 75-minute album instead. Because of this, Moore felt that the finished album was "strange" and "confusing". The only remnant of the original two-album idea was that the first two singles, "So Why So Sad" and "Found That Soul" – reflecting the very different styles at play – were released on the same day as a publicity stunt.

The album departed from the arena rock of the band's previous two albums, featuring a rougher, less polished sound. It also displays influences from a much wider range of styles than before. They atributed the "riotous" punk sound of the tracks "Found That Soul", "Intravenous Agnostic", and "Dead Martyrs" to the influence of Sonic Youth and Joy Division and the jangle-pop of "The Year of Purification" and "Epicentre" to R.E.M. The tracks "So Why So Sad" and "Miss Europa Disco Dancer" were described as "a Beach Boys homage" and "a disco parody" respectively, while "My Guernica", "His Last Painting" and "The Convalescent" were described as "dark, marching and charging post-punk anthems".

The album featured Nicky Wire's debut as a lead vocalist, on the track "Wattsville Blues", and James Dean Bradfield's debut as a lyricist, on "Ocean Spray". Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine guested on guitar on two tracks.

The left-wing political convictions of Manic Street Preachers were apparent in many of the album's songs. "Baby Elián" comments on the strained relations between the United States and Cuba as seen in the Elián González affair. The band also pays tribute to singer and Civil Rights activist Paul Robeson in the song "Let Robeson Sing". 

About the political side of the record, Wire told: "Unfortunately it was four years before everyone else got interested in politics. It took everyone else a war. Where have these people been the last four years? Forty years? American foreign policy's never changed. There's a track called 'Freedom of Speech Won't Feed My Children' about forcing freedom on societies that says everything we ever needed to say." Wire also described the album as "a deeply flawed, highly enjoyable folly".

Know Your Enemy received generally mixed reviews from critics by saying that this was the album where the Manics tied all their disparate strands together, up the political ante, tried new things, all in an attempt to prove they were still vital, a provocative, well-done, but not quite focused enough to take the listener anywhere in particular, said others and unfortunately the album was so confused and hideously dull.  

 

Know Your Enemy Track List:  

 

1. Found That Soul

2. Ocean Spray

3. Intravenous Agnostic

4. So Why So Sad

5. Let Robeson Sing

6. The Year Of Purification

7. Wattsville Blues

8. Miss Europa Disco Dancer

9. Dead Martyrs

10. His Last Paiting

11. My Guernica

12. The Convalescent

13. Royal Correspondent

14. Epicentre

15. Baby Elián

16. Freedom Of Speech Won't Feed My Children

Books: 168 Songs Of Hatred And Failure "A History Of Manic Street Preachers

Organised around 168 songs, in chronological order, about half of the band’s total output, each is given just a couple of pages, an unconventional approach to both the band’s catalogue and biography. Being written with the band’s involvement gives the author the chance to dig deeper into the origins and meanings of songs and, perhaps most importantly, the band’s state of mind when writing them.

This involvement doesn’t mean it’s a hagiography, acknowledging moments of imperfection like their inability to capture the live energy of Methadone Pretty in the studio, or Nicky Wire describing the lyrics to There By The Grace Of God as ‘flimsy’. Lyrical influences; largely politics and art are mostly unsurprising, but there are still a few surprises, such as finding out that Golden Platitudes began as a lullaby for Wire’s son.

It’s the glimpses behind the scene really catch your eye – yes, the band wrote a manifesto and actively engaged with the press in their early days, but you might be surprised that Nicky Wire still cared enough about chart positions to describe Lifeblood’s failure to reach the top as ‘bleak’ or that Masses Against The Classes was written because of perceived press backlash against the then ‘new’ post- Richey iteration of the Manics. There’s plenty of their thoughts on other bands (“Don’t be U2”), comparing a slump when tours weren’t selling out to The Clash.

For me, it’s a book best enjoyed with YouTube and a streaming service open, investigating as the author mentions that live versions of early B-Side Tennessee are better than the record, understanding what makes a 1996 Later… performance of Australia so special or the differences in the demo of Motorcycle Emptiness. I spent a very pleasant afternoon wandering down the rabbit hole as I read and re-acquainted myself with the catalogue – and yes, reappraised some of the later albums that I hadn’t given as much time to.

If such a thing as a casual Manics fan exists, this probably isn’t for them, taking in as it does the more obscure corners of the Manics’ catalogue, and not being a straight cover-to-cover biography in the usual style. However, for fans seeking a deeper understanding of their songs’ gestation, meaning, and evolution, it’s incredibly rewarding. It burrows deep into the catalogue, featuring Japanese bonus tracks, soundtrack cuts, and even a song released on an EP that was only ever available at a single concert and encourages the reader to do the same.

It’s a book that rewards obsession, one that digs into overlooked corners of the catalogue, and in doing so, makes you want to dive back into the music all over again.

Title: 168 Songs Of Hatred And Failure "A History Of Manic street Preachers"

Author: Keith Cameron

Language: English 

Publisher: White Rabbit

Pages: 352 

Albums : Critical Thinking

Released last 14 February 2025, "Critical Thinking" is the 15th., studio album by fantastic Welsh band Manic Street Preachers. The album was supported by four singles prior to its release, including "Decline and Fall". It was met with universal acclaim by music critics. The album features three tracks with bassist Nicky Wire on lead vocals, including the opening title track and "Hiding in Plain Sight", the band's first single which he sings.

 

The album's tracks are explicitly political, as Wire likes political discussion. He stated that the "left is really good at telling people off, which just makes everyone think: fuck off" and says he knew that Trump would win the US election: "It was so obvious to me. Politics is much more about mood and gesture than policy at the moment, and we live in an age of spectacle and eventisation".  The album cover picture was taken by Welsh documentary photographer David Hurn in the Painted Desert, Arizona while he was travelling to photograph Navajo Native Americans after receiving "a bi-centennial fellowship award by the American government". Hurn described the site of the photograph as "strange", and "as if someone drunk had been making a drawing on the road." Wire is a self-described "long-time admirer of Hurn". 

Title track Critical Thinking gets the album off to a flyer, as Nicky Wire takes a turn on vocals walking us through some of the gripes of modern life, the cynicism of the lyrics within this track were enough to make us laugh. Next up, Decline & Fall  opens with a piano intro before exploding into life. James Dean Bradfield gets back to vocal duties and his class is written all over this one, it could quickly become another of the Manics‘ anthemic tracks  and is sure to go down well on their upcoming tour.

Brushstrokes Of Reunion, another highly charged track as the vocals and bass work well together. This one is very pleasing on the ears, taking the listener back to the formation days of the band when they released songs such as Motorcycle Emptiness. The next two tracks are both standouts on the record, as Hiding In Plain Sight continues the traditional Manics sound, with Wire once again taking on the vocals with stunning backup from Lana McDonagh, while People Ruin Paintings has an infectious guitar riff that helps to make it the best song on Critical Thinking.

As we move towards the end of the album, Out Of Time Revival and Deleted Scenes are well worth a listen. Wire ends the album on vocals once again, sounding very much like a young Bernard Sumner from New Order fame. OneManMilitia is the perfect way to end the twelve-track album.

Nicky Wire stated that Critical Thinking is "a different kind of record" to previous Manics albums. Regarding the themes of the album includes themes of moral judgement, while Bradfield said the band had "no real mission statement", allowing for "a sense of freedom". 

 

The band further explained that "Dear Stephen" is inspired by the time in 1984 when the Smiths played Cardiff University. Wire's mum wrote to the group explaining that her teenage son was desperate to see the band but was too ill to attend. The Smiths wrote back, with Morrissey scribbling “get well soon Nick” on a postcard. "An almost spiritual antique" is how Wire describes the note, which he recently rediscovered. 

 

Critical Thinking received "universal acclaim" calling the album "a scream into the void – a reminder that nobody rants better than the Manics." Lyrically, it's almost easy to say this is the Manics' best work yet, and that's all made possible by the unrelenting energy of a voice that can't—and won't—settle for anything less than the raw truth.

 

Critical Thinking Track List: 

 

1. Critical Thinking

2. Decline And Fall

3. Brushstrokes Of Reunion

4. Hiding In Plain Sight

5. People Ruin Paintings

6. Dear Stephen

7. Being Baptised

8. My Brave Friend

9. Out Of Time Revival

10. Deleted Scenes

11. Late Days Peaks

12. One Man Militia

New Music: Brushstrokes Of Reunion

          

Manic Street Preachers have released "Brushstrokes of Reunion," the latest track from their highly anticipated 15th album, Critical Thinking. The album's release date has been pushed back to February 14th due to production delays. About the single, the band states the following: Nods to imperial-era Waterboys, particularly the love and desperation of Rags – R.E.M. Life’s Rich Pageant meets classic Manics crunch + velocity. Lyrically, about the hypnotic quality of a painting that’s inherited from someone who has passed. A Kieran Evans-directed video for "Brushstrokes of Reunion" is what you get now.

New Music: People Ruin Paintings

          

Taken from the band's forthcoming album "Critical Thinking", the third single "People Ruin Paiting" is an amazing song, tremendous lyricis exlporing the destruction of truth, also nostalgic, melodic, melancholy but hopeful at the same time.

Rocktrospectiva: The Varied And Pleasant "Lifeblood" Turns 20

 

Released on 1 November 2004, "Lifeblood" was the seventh studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, the album spawned two singles "The Love Of Richard Nixon" and "Empty Souls", peaking at No. 13 in the UK album chart, and received positive reviews from critics. 

The original title was Litany, due to the song "Litany" who was recorded during the sessions, but at the end the track ultimately only appeared as a B-side on the "Empty Souls" CD single, so the title then turns into "Lifeblood". This time, the band replaced its political lyrics for personal reflection despite the tracks "The Love Of Richard Nixon" was about the United States disgraced president Richard Nixon and "Emily" was about the suffragette leade Emmeline Pankhurst, the band reflects about their past in "1985", the missing of Richey Edwards in "Cardiff Afterlife", also Nicky Wire reflects on the ghost that haunted this record turning into a retrospective, because the main themes were about death, solitude and ghosts, being haunted by history and by your own past.

 

Under the production of legendary Tony Visconti, the recordings began in New York but unfortunately Visconti only finished three tracks "Solitude Sometimes Is", "Emily", and "Cardiff Afterlife", then, the band move with Gred Haver and finished the record in Ireland and Wales, the album is fantastic from the point of view that is a depart from their sound replacing the band's traditional guitar walls of sound with more subtle and melodic playing, putting some emphasis being given to keyboards and synthesizers, the result was a blend on pop rock, synthpop and synthrock. 

 

The album received positive reviews from critics, something which had not happened with their previous effort "Know Your Enemy", a pleasant album full of several interesting things like the keyboards, strummedguitars and tasteful harmonies, oriented to elegiac pop, due in part the work of Tony Visconti, who helped to deliver a fairly best album since their "Everything Must Go". 

 

Lifeblood Track List:

 

1. 1985

2. The Love Of Richard Nixon

3. Empty Souls

4. A Song For Departure

5. I Live To Fall Asleep

6. To Repel Ghosts

7. Emily

8. Glasnost

9. Always/Never

10. Solitude Sometimes Is

11. Fragments

12. Cardiff Solitude

New Music: Hiding In Plain Sight

          

Manic Street Preachers have announced their 15th., studio album "Critical Thinkings" due to be out next January 31st., according to Nicky Wire: This is a record of opposites colliding – of dialectics trying to find a path of resolution,”. “While the music has an effervescence and an elegiac uplift, most of the words deal with the cold analysis of the self, the exception being the three lyrics by James (Dean Bradfield) which look for and hopefully find answers in people, their memories, language and beliefs. The music is energised and at times euphoric. The band just share their new single "Hiding In Plain Sight" which is kinda of historical, because it's the first single sung by bassist Nicky Wire, so definitely he brings a different vibe to the band’s anthemic style.

Audio: Decline & Fall

           

Manic Street Preachers have announced the release of their new single,"Decline & Fall" their frist track since their 2021 album "The Ultra Vivid Lament", which was recorded at the band’s Door To The River studio in Newport and Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, the single was produced by Dave Eringa and Loz Williams, with mixing by Caesar Edmunds, about the song: Musically with "Decline & Fall" we tried to create forward motion – a song which harnesses the past to propel it into the future – the lyric is one of realisation and understanding – of celebrating the tiny miracles that still exist whilst accepting and embracing managed decline.”

Rocktrospectiva: The Intense And Heartbreaking "The Holy Bible" Turns 30

Released on 30 august 1994, "The Holy Bible" was the third studio album by Welsh indire rock band Manic Street Preachers, while the album was being written and recorded, lyricist and rhythm guitarist Richey Edwards was struggling with severe depression, alcohol abuse, self-harm and anorexia nervosa, and its contents are considered by many sources to reflect his mental state. 

Indeed the songs focus on themes relating to politics and human suffering. It was published six months before the mysterious Edward's disappearance on 1 Februay 1995, near the Severn bridge in his native Wales. The album reached No. 6 in the UK initially, global sales were disappointing compared to previous albums and the record did not chart in mainland Europe or North America. In the years to come, the album received widespread acclaim from critics and has sold over half million copies worldwide. 

The lyrics was split fairly evenly between Richey Edwards and Nicky Wire, 70-75% written by Edwards, according to James Dean Bradfield. The album's lyrics deal with subjects including prostitution, American consumerism, British imperialism, freedom of speech, the Holocaust, self-starvation, serial killers, the death penalty, political revolution, childhood, fascism and suicide. 

The album opened with "Yes"  a song that is undermined by its focus on the subject of prostitution and the recurrence of sexual sweari in the lyric, next "ifwhiteamericantoldthetruthforonedaysit'sworldwouldfallapart" was "not a completely anti-American song", but instead was about "how the most empty culture in the world can dominate in such a total sense".The title of the song has been repeatedly attributed to Lenny Bruce without any clear source for this claim given. It is possible that an error of attribution has arisen as a result of the band's discussion around Bruce, "Of Walking Abortion" is about right-wing totalitarianism, "Archives of Pain", dealing with the glorification of serial killers and seemingly advocating capital punishment, he said "was the song that me and Richey worried about mostthe song isn't a right-wing statement, it's just against this fascination with people who kill"."Revol" as being about Edwards' idea that "relationships in politics, and relationships in general, are failures". "P.C.P.", he said, was about how "PC followers take up the idea of being liberal but end up being quite the opposite". He said that he was "completely confused" by "Faster"  was about self-abuse.

"Mausoleum" and "The Intense Humming of Evil", Wire said, were both inspired by visits by the band to former concentration camps at Dachau and Belsen. "Die in the Summertime" and "4st 7lb" were "pretty obviously about Richey's state of mind".However, Edwards attested that the former song is actually about a pensioner wanting to die with memories of childhood in his mind. "This Is Yesterday", according to Wire, is "about how people always look back to their youth and look on it as a glorious period". "She Is Suffering", Wire saying it suffers from "man-coming-to-the-rescue syndrome".According to Edwards, the "she" in the song title is desire: "In other Bibles and Holy Books no truth is possible until you empty yourself of desire".

Musically, The Holy Bible marks a shift from the modern rock sound of their first two albums, into a more oriented alternative rock, post-punk, hard rock, punck rock, gothic rock and glam punk 

Despite not charting in mainland Europe, and not selling very well initially, The Holy Bible received widespread acclaim from music critics upon release. the album isn't elegant, but it is bloody effective". which regarded the album as primarily the work of Richey Edwards, described it as "the sound of a group in extremis. Although the music itself isn't as scarily intense, its tight, terse hard rock and glam hooks accentuate the paranoia behind the songs, making the lyrics cut deeper, this marks the album as one of the best albums of the 90s—ignored by many, but loved intensely by the few who've lived with it over the years. 

The Holy Bible Track List: 

 

1. Yes

2.  Ifwhiteamericatoldthetruthforonedayit'sworldwouldfallapart

3. Of Walking Abortion

4. She Is Suffering

5. Archives Of Pain

6. Revol

7. 4st 7lb

8. Mausoleum

9. Faster

10. This Is Yesterday

11. Die In The SUmmertime

12. The Intense Humming Of Evil

13. P.C.P

 

In Memoriam: Ha Muerto El Legendario Músico Y Productor "Steve Albini" A Los 61 Años

El legendario músico y productor Steve Albini ha muerto a los 61 años de manera inesperada tras sufrir un ataque cardíaco en su estudio de grabación Electrical Audio, la noticia ha sido confirmada por el personal de su estudio.

 

Todo icono en la cultura alternativa, siempre estuvo en la cresta de la escena y de fue el productor de algunos de los discos más queridos de la escena alternativa. Como músico, estuvo al frente de bandas como Big Black, Rapeman y Shellac, quienes empujaron más allá de las fronteras del post-punk y art-rock, también en esos años comenzó sus andanzas como productor, o su termino preferido Ingeniero, para docenas de álbumes de bandas como Nirvana, Pixies, PJ Harvey, y Page And Plant, era destacado por sus DIY y ética punk, resistiéndose a los servicios por streaming y negándose a tomar regalías de las grabaciones de otros artistas que había producido. Estaba en planes con su banda Shellac preparando lo que sería su primer álbum desde el 2014 y se preparaba para una gira. 

Nacido en California en 1962, las inspiraciones de Albini vinieron directamente del movimiento punk, encabezado por The Ramones, pero robustizado por Devo y Pere Ubu, se mudo a los suburbios de Chicago para estudiar periodismo y fue lanzado a la fértil escena underground de la ciudad, contribuyendo con fanzines y trabajando con el sello punk Ruthless Records. 

 

Comenzó su propio proyecto musical Big Black, inicialmente fue un proyecto en solitario que después se convirtió en un cuarteto, su disco debut "Atomizer" fue lanzado en 1986 y el segundo "Songs Abut Fucking" estaba caracterizado por un tono y pulsos de guitarra y cajas de ritmo, esto se volvería en un sello sonoro en la escena punk Estadounidense del momento, y le gano la admiración de Robert Plant, quien trabajaría con él en un disco junto a Jimmy Page. Tras el fin de Big Black, fundo otra banda Rapeman en 1987 cuyo nombre fue tomado de un manga Japonés, y fue entonces su trabajo más atrevido y provocador, aunque después se arrepintió por el nombre que uso. 

 

Albini llegó a decir que su próxima banda tenía que durar más y entonces se vino Shellac en 1992, con un sonido más art-rock, tocando un estilo más minimalista pero rítmico en consonancia con el baterista Todd Trainer y el bajista Bob Weston, llegarían a lanzar cinco discos, hasta el último que ya preparaban con todo y gira. 

Junto a la música, se metió de lleno en la producción, y ganó fama gracias al disco "Surfer Rosa" de 1988, el álbum debut de la mítica y legendaria banda Pixies, que daría origen al grunge que florecería a inicios de los 90's., además produjo a otras bandas como The Jesus Lizard, Tad y The Breeders, ayudó a promover el crudo sonido de PJ Harvey en su álbum "Rid Of Me" en 1993, año en el que tuvo mayor repercusión como productor, ya que también produciría el mejor disco de Nirvana a mi criterio "In Utero" con un sonido más oscuro y crudo que no gusto mucho al sello Geffen, por lo que entraron en disputa, del disco salieron dos singles que ayudaron a darle más brillo al sonido de Nirvana. 

 

A pesar de odiar la escena mainstream, Albini fue adorado por músicos debido a su aproximación sin pretensiones, dándole siempre un toque único a las grabaciones, siempre favorecía el uso de técnicas análogas, a lo cual el llamaba "fuck digital" en sus notas. Gracias al éxito, pudo montar su estudio "Electrical Audio en 1995 y apareció en los créditos de otros trabajos de artistas tales como: Joanna Newsom, Low, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Manic Street Preachers, Mogwai y Jarvis Cocker.

 

También fue figura polémica, y nunca faltaron insultos y provocaciones, además de que a veces Albini las avivaba como cuando su single "Big Black" fue dedicado al dictador Benito Mussolini, volviéndose una figura incomoda en los años siguientes, a lo que después comento sentirse arrepentido de haberlos dicho en el 2021. 

 

Albini también fue un celebrado jugador de poker y llegó a ganar dos brazaletes de oro en la Serie Mundial de Poker y cientos de dólares más en eventos y torneos. A Albini le sobreviven su esposa, la cineasta Heather Winna. 

Rocktrospectiva: El Melódico Y Social "This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours" Cumple 25 Años

 

Lanzado el 14 de Septiembre de 1998 "This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours" fue el 5to., álbum de estudio de la banda Galesa, Manic Street Preachers, el disco fue un éxito comercial y de crítica y debutó en el No. 1 en el Reuno Unido, de hecho vendió muy bien en Europa y Asia también y representó un cambio en el sonido del grupo, pasando de un furioso sonido alternativo hacía uno más tierno y cercano al oyente mainstream. Del disco se lanzaron cinco formidables singles "If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next", "The Everlasting", "Nobody Loved You", "You Stole The Sun From My Heart", & "Tsunami". 

 

El título fue tomado de un discurso dado por el político Aneurin Bevan, y fue el primero en contar con letras hechas por Nicky Wire, mientras que la música fue hecha por James Dean Bradfield y Sean More, un disco con una influencia menor del hard rock y con un sonido lleno de diversas técnicas como guitarras limpias y melódicas, teclados y percusiones programadas lo cual fue apreciado y anotado no solo por la crítica sino por el público en general con curiosas anotaciones, My Little Empire" por ejemplo fue inspirada por John Frusciante en el caso del riff intro, otros como "S.Y.M.M." hablaba sobre el desastre en Hillsborough Stadium ocurrido en Sheffield en 1989. 

Otros temas como "If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next" estaba inspirada en la Guerra Civil Española en especial en el idealismo mostrado por los voluntarios Galeses que tomaron parte en el conflicto, la triste balada "The Everlasting" que fue tomada de un poema del hermano de Nicky Wire, además de "Tsunami" inspirada por los gemelos June y Jennifer Gibbons que dejaron de hablar cuando eran jóvenes y se vieron envueltos en crímenes enviados después al Hospital Broadmoor, un tema único construido con guitarras y una sitara. 

Los singles entraron directo al top 10 Británico, excepto por "Tsunami" y "The Everlasting" que llegaron al No. 11, de igual manera lograron aceptación en Suecia, Noruega, Nueva Zelanda, Dinamarca, Austria y Australia, además la crítica lo aprecio y lo remuneró con buenos comentarios destacando el trabajo de Wire en las letras, además de la técnica y sonido, uno de los grupos capaces de integrar diferentes instrumentaciones para crear un tremendo disco de rock y de las más embrujantes casi a la misma altura que otras bandas como Radiohead. 

 

Muchos consideraron el disco como el primer álbum verdaderamente hecho como un trío, desarrollando himnos de rock que a pesar de la desolación de sus letras eran muy pero muy vibrantes, una extraña fusión de sonido rock y brutal sin perder su lado pop destacando su lado sonico como intelectual.

 

This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours Track List:

 

1. The Everlasting

2. If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next

3. You Stole The Sun From My Heart

4. Ready For Drowning

5. Tsunami

6. My Little Empire

7. I'm Not Working

8. You're Tender And You're Tired

9. Born A Girl

10. Be Natural

11. Black Dog On My Shoulder

12. Nobody Loved You

13. S.Y.M.M.

Rocktrospectiva: El Vibrante y Estridente "Gold Against The Soul" Cumple 30 Años

Lanzado el 21 de Junio de 1993 "Gold Against The Soul" fue el segundo álbum de estudio de la banda Galesa Manic Street Preachers, del álbum se lanzaron cuatro singles "La Tristesse Durera (Scream To A Sigh)", "From Despair To Where", "Roses In The Hospital" y "Life Becoming A Landslide", las letras estaban llenas de melancolía y se noto la variación de estilos que iban de funk al grunge, al glam rock, y hasta pop rock. 

De la mano del productor Dave Eringa, la banda volvió a las andadas recién habían terminado su último disco y tenían ya nuevos temas, no querían usar algún productor de corte mainstream por lo que volvieron con Eringa por su sonido y visión, y a la larga cayo bien, fue el último disco intenso sin ataduras de ese período en donde buscaban pasar por debajo de las corporaciones sin ser afectados.

Las letras iban de un contenido menos político que su disco anterior, aquí todo era más reflexivo y desesperado, lleno melancolía, con ciertas referencias por ejemplo a Van Gogh y su biografía en el tema "La Tristesse Durera", con mucha presencia de variados sonidos en donde experimentaron con los riffs y la batería sonido que no usarían en el siguiente disco, había mucho hard rock, glam rock, y por supuesto grunge aprovechando el hype que tenía el sonido en ese entonces, mucho se dice que con este disco abandonaron el glam punk y entraron peligrosamente al grunge, aunque sonaba a pop rock épico, y se notaba en temas como "Roses In The Hospital" como funk rock, mientras que otros había bases grunge, había cierta aura a lo Alice In Chains y Red Hot Chilli Peppers con Nicky Wire el bajista queriendo emular a Flea.

El disco llegó al No. 8 en el Reino Unido y se coló en otros listados de Alemania y Japón, y por lo menos, los cuatro singles entraron al top 40 del Reino Unido, la crítica fue variada, muchos lo consideraron un disco raro, confuso, demasiado glam metal y poca vibra britpop, pero por otro lado fue considerado una continuación poderosa y estridente como resultado de su debut. obviamente y como suele pasar, las críticas han cambiando con los años, citando al disco un excelente ejemplo de pop metal infravalorado, un disco intrigante que no fue bien apreciado en su momento pero que es igual de formidable que mucha de su discografía

Gold Against Soul Track List:  

1. Sleepflower

2. From Despair To Where

3. La Tristesse Durera (Scream To A Sigh)

4. Yoruself

5. Life Becoming A Landslide

6. Drug Drug Druggy

7. Roses In The Hospital

8. Nostalgic Pushead

9. Symphony Of Tourette

10. Gold Against The Soul

La Reedición: Know Your Enemy

 

 

Lanzado originalmente en el 2001, "Know Your Enemy" fue el 6to., álbum de estudio de la banda Galesa, Manic Street Preachers, y que ahora será relanzado en CD y Vinilo, ofreciendo los track remasterizados y reconstruidos, para formar dos álbumes separados como había sido concebido el plan original. 

Tras el éxito de su disco de 1998 "This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours", la banda planeó el siguiente disco como uno doble, el primero con un sonido agresivo, rápido y que los regresaba a sus raíces titulado "Solidarity", y "Door To The River" que era más conciliatorio, pero al final no fue así y terminaron lanzado el disco en uno solo y que eventualmente fue exitoso en el Reino Unido alcanzando el No. 2 y del cual se lanzaron cuatro singles que llegaron al top 20. 

Por supuesto que ahora que se revisita el disco, se vuelve al concepto original, ya que Nicky Wire encontró las cintas originales de "Solidarity" y "Door To The River", que hicieron en el estudio, por lo que Bradfield gustó de la idea de volver a remezclar el disco entero con el productor de la banda Dave Eringa, los nuevos mixes han perdido los efectos de estudio y el ruido difital en el caso de las canciones del disco "Solidarity", en el caso de "Door To The River" se quitan las orquestraciones y embellecimiento que se pusieron originalmente. 

Ahora la reedición ofrece el concepto original, por lo cual, la 3CD Deluxe edition es la mejor para saber apreciarlo con los bonus tracks, más los mixes sin usar de Tom Lord-Alge que vienen en el disco original y que no son del disco reestructurado, además hay un bonus CD lleno de demos, en el caso de la 2CD edition tiene el mismo audio en el disco 1 y 2 pero no el demo CD.

La versión en vinilo ofrece dos álbumes sin los bonus track, en el caso de "Door To The River" se vuelve en 10 tracks y en "Solidarity" lanzan 12 tracks, acompañados de fotos inéditas delas grabaciones gracias al fotográfo Mitch Ikeda. 

 

El disco remezclado y reconstruido de "Know Your Enemy" será lanzado el 9 de Septiembre. 

 

Know Your Enemy 3CD Track List: 

 

 CD 1: Door to the River 

 

1. The Year of Purification 

2. Ocean Spray

3. So Why So Sad (Avalanches Sean Penn Mix)

4. Door To The River

5. Rosebud

6. Just a Kid

7. His Last Painting

8. Let Robeson Sing

9. Groundhog Days

10. Epicentre

 

Bonus Tracks:

1. His Last Painting (LA Mix) Epicentre (TLA Mix)

2. So Why So Sad (Original KYE Version)

3. Royal Correspondent

 

CD 2: Solidarity 

 

1. Intravenous Agnostic 

2. Found That Soul (TLA Mix)

3. We Are All Bourgeois Now

4. Freedom of Speech Won’t Feed My Children

5. The Convalescent

6. Baby Elian

7. Masses Against The Classes

8. My Guernica

9. Studies In Paralysis

10. Dead Martyrs

11. Wattsville Blues

12. Miss Europa Disco Dancer

 

Bonus Tracks:

 

1.Fear Of Motion

2. Pedestal

3. Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel

4. Locust Valley

5. Masking Tape

6. Ballad of the Bangkok Novotel

 

CD 3: Demos

 

1. Ocean Spray (Studio Demo) 

2. So Why So Sad (Cassette Demo)

3. Door To The River (Cassette Demo)

4. His Last Painting (Air Version Home Cassette Demo)

5. Let Robeson Sing (Home Cassette Demo)

6. Groundhog Days (Home Cassette Demo)

7. Epicentre (Cassette Demo)

8. Intravenous Agnostic (Home Cassette Demo)

9. Freedom Of Speech Won’t Feed

10. My Children (Studio Demo)

11. The Convalescent (Studio Rehearsal Demo)

12. His Last Painting Baby Elian (Studio Demo)

13. Masses Against The Classes (Studio Demo)

14. My Guernica No 1 (Home Acoustic Demo)

15. My Guernica (Studio Demo)

16. Dead Martyrs (Home Cassette Demo)

17. Wattsville Blues (Home Cassette Demo)

Rocktrospectiva: El Aguerrido Y Poderos "Generation Terrorists" Cumple 30 Años

 

 

Lanzado el 10 de Febrero de 1992, "Generation Terrorists" fue el álbum debut de una rara pero atrevida y vanidosa banda de Galés llamada Manic Street Preachers que por aquel entonces eran un cuarteto, ya venían precedido de cierta fama por el éxito que tuvo el single "Motown Junk", entonces a la hora de lanzar este debut, se las llevaron de engreídos aduciendo que su disco debut sería el más grande álbum de rock jamás lanzado y que llegaría a vender un alto número de copias en todo el mundo, cosa que no pasó, pero nos dejó un formidable debut. 

 

Tan así fue, que su disco es considerado una obra sonora de 17 tracks, muy fresco y directo, que deambulaba entre el hard rock, indie rock más pinceladas de sleazy y punk glam rock del mejor calibre, las guitarras aquí son parte fundamental de ese estridente y melódico sonido para potenciar su mensaje socialista, y todo eso porque los cuates eran de un lugar en donde los derechos laborales y los sindicatos eran el pan de cada día, y por eso es que siempre se han declarado marxistas, y lo pueden comprobar en sus letras. Producido Steve Brown, grabaron el disco track por track y al final se unió todo con los retoques requeridos, con una batería programada por Sean Moore, y otra curiosidad es que el ahora desaparecido Richey Edwards fue acreditado como el guitarrista pero nunca la tocó, aunque hizo trabajos junto a Moore en las letras, dejándole a Bradfield y Wire la composición musical.

El disco abre con "Slash n' Burn", tema crudo y rockero con guiños Estadounidenses aunque sin perder su esencia punk, para dar paso a la extraña "Nat West-Barclays-Midlands-Lloyds" arropada por las guitaras y un piano al final del mismo, y dar paso a la potente "Born To End", corte feliz y estridente coqueteando con lo que se conoció como  metal alternativo y entonces se viene una de las mejores y más emblemáticas de la banda "Motorcycle Emptiness", que ya traía el estilo que la banda iba a seguir en el futuro, un riff duro y con una base melódica fabulosa, y sigue la potencia con "You Love Us", y entonces ya nos tenían enganchados con el disco y seguimos avanzando con otro clásico "Little Baby Nothing", notable y comercial y que fue inspirada en la explotación sexual de una mujer y curiosamente la ex-actriz porno Tracy Lords accedió a cantar, pasamos al himno generacional "Love's Sweet Exile", comenzando aquí con los samples ya que el siguiente "Repear (Stars And Stripes)" sigue la misma línea aunque poco importa por la buena interpretación de James Dean Bradfield.

Entonces ya llegamos a la segunda mitad del disco con la pegajosa "Stay Beautiful" con una buena línea de bajo a cargo de Wire, pasamos por "So Dead" y luego "Repeat" un clásico hasta nuestros días por su trasfondo revolucionario, y entramos con la bizarra "Spectators Of Suicide" en donde la banda mezcla guitarras acústicas y cajas de ritmos y que le hacía un guiño a lo que le pasaría a Edwards en el futuro, y aquí comienzan los temas más ocuros con "Damn Dog", "Cruxified Kiss" y Methadone Pretty", para terminar con "Condemned To Rock 'n' Roll", haciendo un total de 18 tracks siendo este el más extenso, duro y casi rozando el heavy metal, incluso hay otro tema que se incluyo después "Theme From M*A*S*H (Suicide Is Painless)" potente tema lleno de hard rock que por ratos nos hace pensar que escuchamos a una banda de Los Ángeles y no de Galés. 

Sin duda un debut increíble para una banda que dijo que iba a vender 16 millones de copias de este disco pero no fue así, seguirían mejores discos y venderían más copias, aunque con el tiempo su sonido se iría suavizando más no su imagen de izquierdistas que muchos dicen que eso fue lo que los bloqueo en Estados Unidos de tener más éxito que bien lo merecían, además Richey Edwards se quedaría en el camino, no se sabe si se suicido o simplemente se largo para siempre a otro rincón en donde pudiera pasar desapercibido, lo cual sigue siendo un profundo misterio dentro de la música. 

Generation Terrorists Track List: 

1. Slash n' Burn

2. Nat-West-Barclays-Midland Lloyds

3. Born To End

4. Motorcycle Emptiness

5. You Love Us

6. Love's Sweet Exile

7. Little Baby Nothing

8. Repeat (Stars And Stripes)

9. Tennessee

10. Another Inveted Disease

11. Stay Beautiful

12. So Dead

13. Repeat

14. Spectators And Suicide

15. Damn Dog

16. Cruxified Kiss

17. Methadone Pretty

18. Condemned To Rock n' Roll

19. Theme From M*A*S*H* (Suicide Is Painless)