Manic Street Preachers show their class on new single ‘People Ruin Paintings’.
The Welsh band spent 2024 on the road, sharing some joint headline billings with old pals Suede. Those righteous performances masked the backstage creativity, with Manic Street Preachers completing work on a new studio album.
Out on January 31st, ‘Critical Thinking’ was led by Nicky Wire sung lead single ‘Hiding In Plain Sight’, and follow-up ‘Decline & Fall’.
There’s a real sense of grace to new song ‘People Ruin Paintings’, with the band’s potent interplay gliding in an unforced manner. Some of the production aspects have a 90s feel, but there are other reference points here, too – aspects of James Dean Bradfield’s Simple Minds, for example, or even the maximalist pop of The Blue Nile.
It’s all utterly, unmistakably Manic Street Preachers, however – the art lineage lyricism points to Nicky Wire’s deep passion for visual arts, while the guitar solo is undiluted James Dean Bradfield.
In a note, Manics describe the song as “musically the three of us playing telepathically, referencing thirty plus years of playing together instinctively”.
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‘Critical Thinking’ is available on LP, CD, hardbook CD and cassette with two brand new songs available on a limited 7”, a remix of ‘Decline & Fall’ by Steven Wilson and demo versions of all the new album tracks on an extended CD. See the bands official store to see all the versions available: https://ManicStreetPreachers.lnk.to/store
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Photo Credit: Alex Lake
