MANIC STREET PREACHERS - Futurology

Having spent the early part of their career desperately wanting to be The Clash, the Manics have decided in their relative middle-age to morph into a Berlin-era Bowie/Kraftwerk hybrid. That’s the cynical way to approach Messrs Bradfield, Wire and Moore going all Germanic on studio album # 12.
Listen without blinkers though – I’m mangling my figures of speech, I know! – and Futurology is up there with the best of their output. Yep, I’d as happily have it on my desert island as Generation Terrorists, The Holy Bible or Everything Must Go.
As bombastic as its Rewind The Film predecessor was understated, the album gets straight down to business with a title-track that features some classic James Dean riffing and a chorus that any Swedish hit factory would be envious of.
‘Walk Me To The Bridge’ has a tick-tock rhythm and such classic Manics sloganeering as “Money needs money and slums need the poor” and ‘Sex, Power, Love & Money’ is – by the band’s own admission – their attempt at rewriting The Rolling Stones’ last great song, ‘Undercover Of The Night’.
The sturm und drag reaches its peak on ‘Europa Geht Durch Mich’, a siren-accompanied electro stomper which has German actress Nina Hoss doing her best Marlene Dietrich (ask your grandparents!) impersonation.
There are also impressive guest turns from Scritti Politti’s Green Gartside on ‘Between The Clock And The Bed’, an almost Wellerseque slice of neo soul that calms things down for three minutes; Super Furry Animal Cian Ciaran on ‘The Next Jet To Leave Moscow’ which manages to sound exactly like its title and old Manics mucker Cate Le Bon who features on ‘Let’s Go To War’, the theme to an imaginary ’60s espionage thriller starring Michael Caine.
Having previously spoken to James Dean Bradfield about the band’s more fundamentalist followers, I suspect the “Running from the pitiful nihilism/ The misguided tweets/ The sad Facebooking” part of ‘The View From Stow Hill’ is directed at the 4 Real brigade who won’t let go of Richey. The song itself is another catch your breath interlude, with treated guitar and spooky ambient noise.
Elsewhere the instrumental ‘Dreaming A City’ is redolent of Simple Minds before stadiumitis set in; the equally wordless ‘Mayakovsky’ is Can and Tangerine Dream filtered through Welsh ears and ‘Divine Youth’ features the folky tones of Georgia Ruth, a Welsh Music Prize-winner whose own Week Of Pines album should be checked out immediately.
On this evidence, far from running out of steam, the Manics are a band who’ve realised they’re free to do whatever the hell they please and are revelling in it!
OUT NOW.