Manic Street Preachers -Send Away the Tigers

Fri 10th Aug, 2007 in Music Reviews

If you’re a Manic Street Preachers fan from their days at the top of the Britpop tree, you’ve probably been disappointed for the past decade. After the disappearance of guitarist and chief lyricist Richey Edwards, 1996 album Everything Must Go was the musical equivalent of a team winning its first three games after losing its coach. But while album sales peaked at the end of the 1990s and early 2000s, the critical response to This is My Truth Tell Me Yours, Know Your Enemy and Lifeblood did the opposite.

After three lacklustre LPs, Send Away the Tigers picks up where Everything Must Go left off, combining the less disjointed lyrical style of bassist Nicky Wire with a richer and more refined musical backing and critically, the occasional reference to the band’s punk and metal roots.

Send Away the Tigers, the title track and album opener, is a return to the band’s riffy best, reflecting the sounds of debut album Generation Terrorists but without the naive sloganeering lyrics typical of Edwards. And though Underdog ’s catch-cry of “This one’s for the freaks” echoes lyrics you’d more likely see in a Good Charlotte record sleeve these days, the loud/soft dynamic continues the early trend of restoring that punchy sound the Manics were once known for.

Another defining characteristic of Send Away the Tigers is the presence of sure-fire single choices. Your Love Alone is Not Enough, which features the spine-tingling smooth vocals of Nina Persson (The Cardigans) is the first, echoing the role of Little Baby Nothing (a duet between frontman James Dean Bradfield and porn star Traci Lords). There’s a very clear indication of self-awareness with Beatles-esque self-referencing (“You stole the sun/say from my heart, from my heart, from my heart”) and the emergence of Bradfield as narrator in the refrain (“I could have written all your lines”) and though the spit and polish set the track apart from its relatively raw counterparts, these subtle touches again make the return-to-roots mission statement clear. Second, is the uncharacteristically uplifting Autumn Song, which, with the lines “remember the best times are yet to come” delivers the kind of hope that would have Edwards turning in his grave (well, that is, if he is in fact dead), backed by the kind of lead riff you might hear if The Edge and Slash ever had babies.

But while Send Away the Tigers is a generally hopeful record, Bradfield’s vicious vocals, working alongside Wire’s songwriting and the direct and driven musical style packs the kind of punch MSP were capable of when they were a four-piece trying to reference The Clash, Plath, KISS and Kerouac all at the same time. Rendition and Imperial Bodybags continue what Send Away the Tigers and Underdog started, while the unsettling tremolo underneath the dark vocals of The Second Great Depression are more reflective of 1994 album The Holy Bible. While many may have given up on the Manics years ago, Send Away the Tigers is a return to their best and will no doubt serve as a reminder of just how good the band were – and still are.