Know Your Enemy

One of the beautiful things about this sixth album is the sense that, unlike with the albums that preceded and followed it, the band are really following their own muse. The album kicks off with great tracks like "Found That Soul" and "Ocean Spray". "Miss Europa Disco Dancer," is a very nice attempt at a dance song, with a great bass line softened by minorkey synth tones. "My Guernica" is an excellent rock song with a load of cool Mary Chain-style noise over the top, "The Convalescent" is a brilliantly arranged pop song with keyboards, guitars and vocal parts meshing nice together. "Epicentre" has a slightly folkish edge to begin with, until you reach the bridge and chorus, which are pure Manics, and gloriously catchy.

One of the continuing mysteries of rock & roll is how the Manic Street Preachers can continue to be hailed as demi-gods in their native UK but get relegated to permanent cult status in America. While that situation is unlikely to change, KNOW YOUR ENEMY is probably as close as the band has come to album with potential US appeal. It's not that the band's revolutionary ideology has softened, but they've varied their sonic palette a bit. The keyboards and harmonies adorning the melodic pop of "So Why So Sad" suggest that the Preachers have been listening to the Beach Boys' "Sloop John B." The aptly titled "Miss Europa Disco Dancer" could be a long-lost China Crisis, with its ironic Brit-funk feel. A mix of acoustic guitars and subtle keyboards offset the raw guitar attack on many cuts, though "My Guernica" is a bold, blazing return to form, full of charging, trashy drums and driving guitars. On "Let Robeson Sing," a heartfelt tribute to legendary American vocalist/activist Paul Robeson, singer James Dean Bradfield asks "Can anyone write a protest song?" For the Manic Street Preachers, the answer is a resounding "yes."