11.

Manic Street Preachers

Rewind the Film

Something of a curve-ball from the Manics, this record joins Journal for Plague Lovers and Postcards from a Young Man as part of their significant revival after the horrific wilderness years of the mid-2000s.  The stripped down brilliance of acoustic melancholia that is opener ‘This Sullen Welsh Heart’ leads into a simple but expansive album.  Based on the reviews at that time, I thought it was all going to sound like ‘This Sullen Welsh Heart’.  However, while much of the record remains acoustic, there are some more traditional (This Is My Truth, Tell Me Yours era) Manics songs in the mix too (‘Anthem for a Lost Cause’), as well as some notable exploration (I love weird electronica-meets-Spanish guitar of ‘Manorbier’).  Depressed without ever being depressing, Rewind the Film is challenging for a mainstream band, and demonstrates that recent quality releases have been no fluke.

Sample track: ‘Manorbier’