The Ultra Vivid Lament – a song-by-song review

(Originally posted in September 2021; updated most recently on 3 October 2021)

In the update I increased the rating for the song Diapause.

The Ultra Vivid Lament is the 14th studio album by Manic Street Preachers – my favourite music band ever. Before I bought this album I had heard two singles that can be found here:
“We live in Orwellian times”

Please notice that on Youtube you can find also other songs from the album, but their quality is clearly weaker than on the CD.

I must admit that when I was listening to the album in full for the first time I was not impressed by SOME of the songs, HOWEVER already on the second listen I realised that the music is simply fantastic and fits the lyrics perfectly in almost every song! Over time I grew to like more and more lyrics and the album became almost a masterpiece!

The album is so unique that I decided to write a song-by-song review – something I have NEVER done before! This is how much unique the album is!


1. Still Snowing in Sapporo (10/10)

We all have some memories of events from our past that are so strong that we can “relive” the events almost at will. This song is clearly about such an event:
“There are no holes in my recollections
Time has stopped and is perfectly frozen”

The music and the “singing” at the very start of the song are kind of strange, but it's actually brilliant because they fit the memories perfectly:
“I'm walking on my own, it's 1993
The heavy snow is falling like an angel over me
I see it all through a video camera filter
It feels so real like cheap golden glitter”

The music and the singing during the chorus are simply EPIC, especially during these lyrics:
“It's still snowing, snowing in Sapporo”

Even the voices heard at the very end of the song fit there perfectly. They are probably voices from the video recording made with that camera mentioned in the lyrics. What a song!


2. Orwellian (9/10)

This is actually a song where the lyrics are slightly better than the music.

“Everywhere you look, everywhere you turn
The future fights the past, the books begin to burn
Words wage war, meanings being missed
I'll walk you through the apocalypse

We live in Orwellian times
A deepening sense of fear and crime
On the playing fields, in exclusive clubs
And the people machines still making fools out of us”


3. The Secret He Had Missed (10/10)

The music and the singing is awesome throughout the songs. I actually like the verses more than the chorus!

The lyrics seem to be about real people, but they are quite universal:
“Never had the chance to reconcile
Living separate and lonely lives
If only we could meet again
We could find a different end”


4. Quest for Ancient Colour (6/10)

This is the only song in the whole album that I instantly skip – it didn't grew on me even after numerous listens. I don't like the lyrics and the music is nothing special, so it doesn't “enhance” the lyrics at all.


5. Don't Let the Night Divide Us (10/10)

It's one of the most energetic songs the Manics have ever written! I LOVE the music, especially the chorus, and I LOVE the lyrics!

“A land now so infected
Can be free and equal
And when the sunlight bathes us
With sympathy and kindness

We have the cause and the conscience
We have the plans and the purpose
The light will come and find us
Don't let the night divide us

Reject all propaganda
They can't hide from truth's arrow
Vengeance will be yours and mine
We may use peace or violence
We may wage war or silence
This is a warning not a prayer”


6. Diapause (10/10)

The lyrics are quite melancholic, but the final line during the chorus as well as the music and the singing prevent them from becoming depressing. The music and the singing are simply fantastic!

“I looked into the sunset, I screamed and I sighed
I raised hope then it died so I ran and I lied
I stood still for a moment paralysed
The sky seemed so high as the world passed me by

I can't find a solution as decades unfold
So callous as my standstill takes hold

I mapped out a journey to reach my broken heart
Before I even started the plan began to fall apart
I've built so many walls to keep these feelings true
I've burnt so many bridges but not the one that leads to you”


7. Complicated Illusions (10/10)

The lyrics can be interpreted any way that suits you and the music and the singing are very enjoyable!

“Desires to break and deconstruct
I defend the middle ground
Every battle I've ever fought
Has either been lost or bought

And in the rhythm of your voice
I find space to rejoice
My complicated illusions
Leave me with no choice”


8. Into the Waves of Love (9/10)

An interesting combination of light-hearted music and mixed-up lyrics that, again, can be interpreted any way that suits you.

“I don't know what it is that I believe in
But it involves misery and keeping still
Of a silence so intense and hard to find
Of a place that's gone, of a hate that's kind

So throw me into the waves of love
Grant me the pleasures that God made up
Don't try to sell me a universal truth
I'm all given up on listening to you”


9. Blank Diary Entry (8/10)

The lyrics overall are kind of strange (or maybe my “level of comprehension” is simply too low) and the music “adjusts” to them, so at first I didn't like the song at all, but the chorus grew on me so much that I rate the song relatively high.

“Disciplined desires and toxic agendas
Polished by light yet still half remembered
Fatigued, tired, ragged and distressed
No way out of this unholy mess, I must confess

Just another blank diary entry
The emptiness tells its own story
Blank diary entry
A slow painful goodbye to glory, goodbye to glory”


10. Happy Bored Alone (9/10)

The chorus is AWESOME! Overall the music and the singing is surprisingly positive and energetic, considering the lyrics.

“I saw the smile of a dying hero
I saw the tears of a love that's leaving
Why is the day so long and broken
Why do these words remain unspoken

I am happy, I am bored and I'm alone
I am tired, I am restless and I'm cold
Why the chaos living in your soul
I am bored, I am happy and alone”


11. Afterending (10/10)

A perfect song to end the album! Just like the album in general, the song is hard to describe, but very enjoyable and thought-provoking! What a unique song/album!

“Progress is a comfortable disease
That brought us down to our knees
Not to pray but to cry and wish
While painting portraits of our loneliness

Sail into the abyss with me
After ending and after belief
After tomorrow, after the flood
After ending from below and above”