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"Let's Prove We've Still Got It!" - NME, 19th April 2008

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ARTICLES:2008



Title: "Let's Prove We've Still Got It!"
Publication: NME
Date: Saturday 19th April 2008
Photos: Andy Willsher, Dean Chalkley



NME190408.jpg



Nicky Wire wants the band's "miserable and dirty" new album to come out this year

Manic Street Preachers are working on a new album that echoes the darkness of their 1994 classic 'The Holy Bible' - and they want to release it before the end of the year.

Speaking to NME, bassist Nicky Wire explained that the band's new dark and "dirty" material was conceived as a reaction to the euphoria they felt when they won the Godlike Genius Award at the Shockwaves NME Awards in February.

"We went home [after the Awards] and James (Dean Bradfield, singer/ guitarist) was on the phone within a day," Wire said. He was saying, 'What on Earth are we going to do now? How can we do it?' We just went into the studio. had a bash around and made a right old racket. It sounded good, really dirty. I think it was a typical Manics reaction [after the high of winning the Godlike Genius Award] - 'Let's make something miserable and dirty, just to prove we've still got it: When we feel we're being loved a bit too much we have a natural tendency to think that something must be wrong. you see."

Wire went on to explain that, while the six new songs the band had demoed with producer Dave Eringa in Cardiff are reminiscent of 'The Holy Bible. they had also penned some mellow, Elliott Smith-style acoustic songs that may make the album. He said he wanted the new record in the shops this year and could see it kicking off another period of intense creativity for the band. "I'd like to get the album out before I'm 40," joked the bassist, who enters middle age on January 20. 2009. "It'd be nice to have something out this year. For the last few years we've been... I wouldn't call it lazy, but through 'Lifeblood' and 'The Greatest Hits' we maybe didn't do as much as we should've. If you look at us from 1992 to 1996 we released four albums and two of them. 'The Holy Bible' and 'Everything Must Go', are our masterpieces. I look at that creativity and think, 'we shouldn't be scared to put records out.' A lot of bands eke out everything they can from a fucking record, it just goes on and on."

Not content with just writing a new album. Wire revealed his band have also been working on a new Primal Scream-inspired version of their cover of 'Umbrella' by Rihanna, which was originally given away free with NME. The trio recorded the new version in celebration of Wales' recent grand slam rugby win in the 6 Nations tournament and they plan to release it via the internet soon. "we've done a grand slam mix of 'Umbrella' he explained. "It's very 'Screamadelica'. I guess it sounds 20 years old, but in a good way. We just knocked it out while we were doing a session."

Speaking of the success of their original cover of 'Umbrella', Wire said he was shocked by how popular the song had become. it was in the Top 40, but I didn't even know it was fucking released!" he exclaimed of the track, which is now available as a download and has received extensive radio play. "We could tell [it was good] when we recorded it. It was reminiscent of doing 'Suicide Is Painless' (aka 'Theme From MASH', which the band covered, also for NME. in 1992). Looking at each other, we could tell we'd chosen a song that really suited us. It might have done a Nickelback (and stayed in the charts for weeks and weeks), God help us. It could become a staple diet of ours live - especially when we're playing festivals in the Ukraine or somewhere. You need one song someone knows!"