Welsh rock titans Manic Street Preachers follow up to 2014’s krautrock-leaning Futurology with Resistance Is Futile is an arena-ready set of songs containing some potential future classics.

Blistering pop-rock cuts? Yup. Sweeping anthems. Check. Indeed, while there are moments of classic Manics pomposity – I’m thinking strings-and-guitar driven ‘Dylan & Caitlin’ – there are many more direct rock and roll efforts that, on occasion, usefully prompt somewhat unusual MOR comparisons. To wit: is it just me, or does the brilliant single ‘International Blue’ remind you of ‘We Built This City’? The Manic Street Preachers meet Starship! And it works...

The primary focus here is on melody and rock muscle. ‘Vivian’, for example, has an air of The Clash about it. ‘Liverpool Revisited’, meanwhile, is a joyful mid-tempo effort, sporting early era Manics guitar heroics. It paves the way for ‘Seagulls Of Forgotten Wars’, an unashamedly old-school rocker that sounds like it crawled out of 1985, thanks to its cowbell, synthesisers, and heavy riffs. This is followed by the sublime ‘Hold Me Like a Heaven’, a majestic stadium anthem – and possibly the band’s best song in years.

Sometimes the Manic Street Preachers come loaded with intellectual pretentions that overshadow the simple indulgence of great three-minute rock songs. Resistance Is Futile, however, is the sound of a band rediscovering an optimistic joy in the creation of music. It also contains the sharp intelligence and weighty introspection we’ve come to expect from the Welsh trio.
Rating: 8/10

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