The Manic Street Preachers: "Everything Must Go:"

Once upon a time there was a group of four British guys who played music, toured the world and made three albums. They were called the Manic Street Preachers. Suddenly, one day, one of them disappeared. Vanished. Not a trace. Now they are only a group of three. Nobody knows if Richey Manic is dead, in hiding, or just catching some rays on Blackpool beach; but, we do know that The Manics have come out with another album, they're still playing music and they're still touring the world. James Dean Bradfield (lead guitar and vocals), Sean Moore (percussion) and Nicky Wire (bass) obviously feel the gap that Richey created when he left -- you can tell from their interviews and their music. The new album, EVERYTHING MUST GO, lacks the rawness that the last Richey-fied album (The Holy Bible) did. But that doesn't mean it isn't good, because it is. Damn good, in fact. Same messages, just delivered in a different way. Gone are the anger and rage that were the main ingredients of Richey's music. Some of the lyrics WERE written by Richey -- way back when -- but Bradfield's music gives them a poppier spin. They become more satirical than scathing. Wire's lyrics can, at times, test even the most avid listeners limits. The chorus of "Australia" paints such a picture: I want to fly and run till it hurts/Sleep for a while and speak no words in Australia/In Australia. Overall, though, they brilliantly point out the ironies of life. And you can sing along. Just take a gander at the first few lines of "A Design for Life": Libraries gave us power/Then work came and made us free/What price now for a shallow piece of dignity. There's a REASON they released that song as their first single. This band is one of the few that has managed to pick up the pieces and start again without starting over. And this is the album they've been waiting to make. If you were a Manics fan from the start, this album is a nice surprise. If you're a Manics virgin, now is the time to give yourself to them. This is just the beginning.
--Jumana