Manics

At the present time, the CD I have on high rotation is the latest release from the Manic Street Preachers -- "Send away the tigers". After hearing Your love alone is not enough on the flight between Brisbane and London, right from the start of that track, I remember thinking "Never has a truer word been spoken" . That track, combined with the fact that they've produced so many other great albums meant that I was always going to get a copy of this CD as soon as I was finished with my tour of Scotland.

Once again, this is a CD that grabs the listener, through a combination of great musical arrangements and engaging lyrics. The Manics are not for the faint-hearted, they can be dark and cynical at times. They aren't for people who are sufficiently vapid to "laugh along with the laugh track". This probably explains their relative lack of success in this country. Yet those who can open their minds a little and garner an understanding will invariably find something to love here. Even if it doesn't, it always sounds good!

Some of the highlight tracks for me (apart from the one above) include Rendition, Underdogs and the rather obscure and untitled "hidden track" at the end. A verse from this, perhaps, typifies exactly what makes the Manics stand out from so many others: "Keep you doped with religion, sex and TV; And you think you're so clever and classless and free; But you're still f*cking peasants as far as I can see". If that doesn't sum up popular culture perfectly, I don't know what does.