live music

Editor's rating

Venue: Barrowland, Glasgow
Gig Played: 25 May 2009

More than 14 years since the end of the Richey Edwards era, Manic Street Preachers have returned with a persistent, thumping ode to their former bandmate, Journal for Plague Lovers. It's played in its entirety during the first half of tonight's show, and Richey's presence in the lyrics and the band's frequent references provide this gig with a vibe that's as eerie as it is nostalgic.

But the Manics' rabble-rousing passion for potent, politically-charged lyrics and pop-rock are all still present. Certain cuts from ...Plague Lovers - namely 'Peeled Apples', 'Jackie Collins Existential Question Time' and 'Journal for Plague Lovers' - are executed with a fervent panache, as frontman James Dean Bradfield and bassist Nicky Wire call on an unparalleled urgency.

Bradfield occasionally struggles with the new release's verbose lyrical content, but his near-perfect delivery consistently manages to please the raucous crowd in Glasgow. Perhaps realising that their new songs tend towards melancholy, after a short respite (preceded by a rather unfortunate Nicky Wire solo) the group include a second set filled with upbeat fan favourites.

'Motorcycle Emptiness', 'Everything Must Go, 'Little Baby Nothing' and crowd-pleaser 'A Design For Life' are churned out with the vitriolic angst that one might imagine is only possible from a band half their age. But, 22 years down the line, the Manics are as relevant and as dedicated as ever.

Omar Kholeif