and so some 25% or so into the new year (2025, look you see) i finally get around to procuring some new vibes. played them too, and as would be standard write comments on them here. yes, indeed, usually i would do one (1) post per album, but as they are now (at time of writing, look you see) things which are a month or so old they are effectively obsolete in this insane, disposable century which i fail to understand. or fail to understand why i should even bother to understand it.
for the specifics of the tapes (actual tapes) what i gone done played they are (or were) Open Wide, being the third album off of Inhaler, or Inhale® as they now seem to prefer, and Critical Thinking, which is album number i have lost count and they probably have too off of Manic Street Preachers, or Manics as they are now quite comfortably called. who(m)ever would have thought they would have attained universal single word of band name recognition like the Stones.
yes, them are actual tapes off of each band, as it happens. in both instances i ordered "bundle" things what came with the album on both CD and tape, as well as a signed thing (see below). from what i recall there was a negligible price difference between purchasing the disc alone or it with the tape and a signed thing when it came to a "pre-order" thing. which, by the way, is simply "ordering" it, or at a push "ordering it in advance of the release date". a "pre-order" is all of that time prior to placing an actual order, but maybe that's just me. quite surprised that the novelty factor of tapes remains a thing, but i shall take it. presumably they are cheap to manufacture, and the extra "physical format" sale doesn't half help boost chart positions in this very silly "streaming" era.
is it the case that either, or both, of these albums are any good? well, they are not bad, so by default yes, they are good. not particularly great as such, although each has moments.
starting where i did is to start with Open Wide, being as it is (and mentioned) the third offering off of this Inhaler band, or (once more) Inhale® as they now seem to be called. oddly, in that there London place, i saw a lad walking around in an Inhale® branded hoodie thing. i see such merchandise on sale, but never in my size and have wondered who(m), exactly, buys it. true, for all i know, it was an actual member of the band what i saw wandering around. well, obviously not that one.
my recollection of the days of their "difficult" second album was an interview which proclaimed the headline "we are not in this just to play afternoon slots at festivals". this suggested they were looking at somewhat bigger, be it headlining festivals (or at least second on the bill) or headlining stadiums under their own steam. bold, brash and very much to be applauded in this era when rock and roll bands which do not have a nostalgia market to tap appear to be doomed.
just what it is that Inhaler (or Inhale®) wish to do is reasonably unclear. the first song, with the i am sure it makes sense to them title Eddie In The Darkness, sounds pretty much like it's actually going to be a cover of the wonderful Mary's Prayer. it isn't, but it also isn't the sound of a band all set to be a major headline act. quite good songs all over the album, with some really great lyrics, but absolutely nothing in the way of "anthems" or a sound that would fill a stadium.
comparisons? well, at its best this album sounds a bit like the better parts of latter day Crowded House albums, and at the parts it dips (not often) it comes across as anonymous as that Blossoms thing i gave a wild try to last year. the thing is, then, is that it doesn't sound like a pure Inhaler or Inhale® record. oh dear. i truly hope they persist and deliver the masterpiece clearly within them, but all of the way the modern music business works kind of stands against them.
up above in the image (a purple blessed thermal one) are the signed "insert" cards what i got with each purchase. actually i was sure i just bought the disc of the Manics one, but it seems not. once upon a time getting signed stuff would have been ace, but now it feels close to mandatory. to be honest, and this shall sound flippant or what have you, but i have in the vicinity of 20 odd releases signed by the Manics. quite enough, thanks. if this is still a successful sales gimmick, someone should have told Ringo Starr. had he flogged a thousand or so signed copies of his recent offering, even if it was all done by that controversial "autopen" thing, his record might have got higher than the mid 70s in the chart.
on, then, to the Manics album, Critical Thinking. i will be honest, i did not rush to order this, i had very little enthusiasm for it. no, i remain a Manics fan, i don't think you can get out of it once you are in, but after seeing them twice in one week last July there's some fatigue. also there's a bit of a "law of diminishing returns" sequence with their last few albums, with the exception being the truly brilliant James Dean Bradfield solo album Even In Exile.
immediate concerns, if not alarm bells, came about when i discovered the name of the record. across, or on, the internet there are "discussion forums". sometimes intelligent conversations happen, but often also they do not. in my experience it is often that utter, utter w@nker$ or complete t0$$ers accuse others of "not using critical thinking" with their point, with the implication being that if they used this mythical "critical thinking" then of course they would agree with them.
for the lead single of the last album, Orwellian off of The Ultra Vivid Lament, i speculated that the lyrics felt they were "super computer" generated, all before this "AI" business was so prominent in our world. this kind of perpetuates here. no, i am not saying that's what they have done. more a case of most of this feels like they are simply doing what they believe Manics songs should be, rather than being inspired to write about subjects. they can still do such songs, and for an example refer to 30 Year War off of the Rewind The Film album.
quite a few more songs than you may think on this record feature Nicky Wire on vocals. i know for years they have toyed with a second (or full tilt new) vocalist to give James a break. no, the answer is not to Kasabian this, Nicky is not a lead vocalist. strange that he "makes" James sing easily the worst song on this album, Dear Stephen, which appears to be an appeal to Morrissey to cease being quite so right wing (and alienating) as the last few years have seen him be. alas, what made Morrissey who he is was the lack of fear in speaking what he felt, what he believed in. one does not have to agree with him but to plead for him to stop being him strikes me as peculiar. highlight of the record is, likely, the lead single Decline & Fall, which got played heavily on Radio 2, which seems to be the main target audience for them of late. make of that what you will.
both of these albums, on successive weeks, made it to number two in the album chart. in each instance the top spot was taken by Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter, both of who(m) i am not all that familiar with yet know they are huge pop stars. considering the singles chart all went to bland sh!t and then was corrupted forever by Ed Sheridan (or whatever), it's pretty awesome that diversity still exists in the album chart, that different genres can sell (or stream) in relatively similar numbers.
nope, no idea who of my favourites has an album due out later this year. i don't think too many do, to be honest. well, it was a bit of a bumper year last year. oh hang on Suede might put a new one out. for another comparison, Suede's last record, Autofiction, still gets frequent plays. these two albums i have played ten or a dozen times before writing this and i would suggest it is quite unlikely i will ever play either of them again.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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