Resistance Is Futile – a very good album

(Originally posted on Saturday, 14 April 2018)

I thought that the album Resistance Is Futile would be another masterpiece, but it's not. It's still very good, but NOT on the first listen. The five released singles (FIVE!) are more or less catchy, but the other songs need more time to sink in. Also the lyrics are a mixed bag. Some of them are great, but some of them are not my cup of tea.

Well, I grew to like the song The Left Behind very much, mostly because it is so open for interpretation, but also thanks to Nicky Wire's voice. A perfect fit. By the way, the lines "The squadron never dies, falls quickly to demise" and "Acting like a passer-by, waiting for the end of time" are my favourite ones.

The album is the 13th studio album by my favourite music band – Manic Street Preachers. It's remarkable that they have remained so good for so many years (their first album was released in 1992), creating all kinds of different music! Who would have thought that when they were starting their career with a rock album titled Generation Terrorists?

I described the meaning of the first single here:
Yves Klein tribute




The second single is less catchy on the very first listen, but after 2 or 3 more listens it suddenly becomes GREAT.



The third single features The Anchoress – I have never heard of her before, but her voice is so warm!


The title and the lyrics are a reference to these people:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caitlin_Thomas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dylan_Thomas

The fourth single features two moments that seem somewhat annoying at first, but after several listens it's clear that they are actually not bad at all. And the guitar solo is simply awesome!




The refrain in the fifth single feels like a song from 1980s, which is sooo refreshing in our times.



The album Resistance Is Futile is not as good as their masterpiece Rewind The Film (which was insanely melodic but too slow for most people's liking) and it's not as approachable as the albums like Futurology or Send Away The Tigers (which were more lively), but it is still very good. Another album by Manics that is simply unique.

Here are the official non-lyric videos for the first 2 singles: