The Manics usually have pretty awesome acoustics. I'm not sure what happened here but they dropped the ball hard when it came to a whole album of acoustic tracks. A very unremarkable album. Would love for them to give it a second try.

Their best release since JFPL. Hoping the new album develops this sound more. Imagine Bowie's Low but poppier, mmmmm.

Fair warning: this could best be described as a Brand New album for Brand New fans. I'm not saying you won't enjoy it if you come into it with no experience, or a passing notion of who Brand New are - quite the opposite even, the album can stand well enough to be enjoyed by anyone, I'd say - but if you're new to the band, if you've listened to Science Fiction and you've thought "it's good, but I don't think I fully get it", here's my suggestion. Go back and discover their prior ... read more