Everything Must Go

Very listenable, albeit quite samey. I was pretty familiar with several of the songs already.

I didn't dislike this one, but I also didn't love it. A few times it caught my attention, otherwise it felt like something that would work well in the background. I'm becoming more critical of mixes too, the vocals are way too buried.

This group reminds me of Steven Wilson. Lowkey, this is a really good record. I actually found that I wanted to listen to it again when it was finished.

Everything Must Go hits like a band rediscovering its own gravity. From the opening moments, the Manics are locked-in and confident, delivering big, melodic Brit-rock that practically demands finger-tapping and air-guitar accompaniment. The title track soars, “Small Black Flowers…” brings a moment of unexpected, fragile beauty, and the closer “No Surface All Feeling” lands with that perfect mix of triumph and ache. It’s a tight, emotionally legible record with no dead air, just a steady, satisfying ride from a band built for bigger rooms than they ever got here. My Rating: 4/5

One of the best albums OF ALL TIME? You’ve got to be kidding me.

I may have heard of the band before but did not know any of their music. This is basically alternative rock, and sounds very much like the 90s from when it was released. The band is Welsh and has some associations with Britpop, but to my ears this has some elements of that, but less so than some of the other albums on this list. I would listen to this again, but wouldn't exactly be in a rush to do so.

I like the manics so that was already a good album. They were a different band at this point and I probably prefer this version of them. Must have been tough to make this album for the guys in the band. Still manages to be fairly upbeat.

It's alright

é bom mas né bombom

s'alright 4/5

Quite a good album, feels like it's aged a little bit but I guess it is 30 years old... FUCK.

7/10

Day 218 Manics have always been one of those bands I wish I enjoyed slightly more, they seem like sound blokes and often have songs with really interesting themes but I find the music about as MOR as possible Highlights A design for life Removable All surface no feeling

# Album Name: Everything must go # Artist: Manic Street Preachers # Rating: 4/5 # Comments: Good album. Takes me back to the 90s. Some good singles on here. # Top Tunes: Australia / DFL / Kev carter / Everything must go / Small black flowers # Would I listen to it again? Yes

Just aggressively mediocre. 2.5/5

It feels like this album bridges, some kind of gap between alternative and pop punk.

Yet another band I’ve heard of but never heard. You can never have too much great 90s power pop.

Brit Pop ...so much Brit Pop. I had to resort to reading lyrics cause, honestly, the vocalizations evaded me on some tracks. The arrangements though .loved.

Can't understand most of the lyrics, but I like the sound. I did not expect a harp. I'll listen to this again.

Indie rock, more anthemic/stadium than garage. I know A Design for Life, but I don't love it. The whole sound is a bit limp and lacklustre. Enola / Alone is pushing into pop-punk, but without a decent hook it's nothing-y. Best track - Small Black Flowers... 3 stars - almost a 2 but it is just about tolerable

This was good but I can't say I fully loved this. I was more of a fan of the more stripped back songs than I was the ones with the more symphonic production. The vocals were also a bit iffy at points. They were mostly pretty good but on a few tracks they did kinda grate on me a bit. Wouldn't return to this in full, but there are a number of tracks here that I would definitely go back to individually. Fav Songs: Australia, Enola/Alone, Kevin Carter, Interiors Least Fav: Small Black Flowers That Grow In The Sky 7.4/10

I think I need more time with this one

A rebirth, excellent in it’s sad fury.

Ah yet another beloved Manics album on the list. The contrast between this album and The Holy Bible is so fascinating, this is much more of a "britpop" album. It's like therapy after the depressiveness of the previous album. You can feel both Richey's influence on some tracks he still contributed to but also the impact of his disappearance on other songs. It's just all so bittersweet 5/5

My second favourite manics album, song great songs on here

Although it is musically exactly my jam it don't really sparks me. Mainly because of the unimpressive vocals. Favourite: "Kevin Carter", "Removables" 2,5

Too much britpop on list

I enjoyed it while it was on

Good, jangly pop.

Just tired of this brand of British pop/rock. A couple of the songs seemed like a fake band that you'd hear in a British movie. Australia stood out. 2.5/5

Honestly really enjoyed this! I especially liked Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier, Enola/Alone, and the Girl Who Wanted to Be God. Oh also Interiors (Song for Willem de Koons). They do some cool deviations from more 'traditional' rock melodies. Listened to it on the bus while looking out the window and I think that was the perfect place for it.

Like it 3/5

Yeah I mean I enjoyed it, don’t really see why it was on the list but good old Wrexham band representation. Nice arrangements and things for a rock album and some classics

nice little piece of britpop! complete with the cheesy strings and everything, i'm very much britpop enjoyer so this was right up my alley, even though it did feel on the safe / poppy side of the genre in parts. i also liked the nerdy literary / artistic references. had a weird time googling the album afterwards though it was weird to go from 'nice treat of an album' to 'first album released following the WHAT'

this is between a 3 and 4 for me. I found it enjoyable enough though I don't think I'll come back to it. there weren't any bad songs on here but nothing stood out either, it was just a solid body of work

no thanks

boring as everything from them

srednie

Manics are a firm favourite in our house and we love this album. Listen to it often. Excellent lyracists.

Fairly enjoyable album that got better as it progressed. Nothing that blew me away but a fun listen.

Whats up with this list... more fucking shit

To be listened to

I feel like this is porbably deserving of higher than 3 stars, however 4 stars doesn't feel quite right either. Still, this is a pretty decent album and one worth a listen, at least the one time.

This album has The Manics' biggest hit, but none of their brightest moments. Although it says a lot about the band's output when I consider this to be a middling effort - it's the sound of three maturing guys facing up to the trials which brought them this far in life, and proving that they were ready to keep moving along. Favourite tracks: A Design For Life (why not), Everything Must Go, Small Black Flowers, Australia, Interiors, All Surface No Feeling (massive!!)

Everything must go including this album filed under ‘F’ 2/5 (‘cos it’s not hip hop rap) 4/3/26

Honestly I normally really enjoy 90s rock (this feels similar to Blur) but this didn't do it for me. Was just kind of boring? Nothing stood out...

Solid, I generally enjoyed it but didn’t love it. The only track that kind of stood out was “Australia.”

This album was full of songs that sounded like they could have been the themes songs to cancelled 90’s TV shows.

Day788 - i kept thinking through the whole album that ben folds would do this only better

Britrock isn't good, but this was mostly ok.

Highlights: A Design For Life, Enola/Alone and Australia. 3.8

Not a fan

I have a soft spot for the Preachers. They’re a lot more emo than the rest of the Brit Pop scene from that era. Some punk is showing. They get a generous 4 from me (my fave song of theirs isn’t on this album, that would have taken them to a 5).

*I feel like I would rate this band higher after way more listens. *Very dense/interesting alt rock.

Their fourth album. Britpop / Rock. I wasn't a Manics fan back in the 90s. I couldn't quite put my finger on why, I found them kind of a annoying. As I get older my nostalgia gene must be kicking in. Whenever I revisit them now I enjoy the music, vocals and lyrics. This album isn't their best but it is quite anthemic with a big sound. A good toe tapper and sing along album. 90s me was such a music snob, I'd tell him to get over him/my ..self ..

I don’t hate this but I certainly didn’t “need” to listen to this. A couple of times I thought the same song was playing.

The album improved toward the end, but not enough to hear more. 3 stars or C-.

I have heard of Manic Street Preachers before but do not recognise any of the songs. On first listen very unforgettable .

3.5/5

mehhhh

Favorite Track: Everything Must Go

Tämä löytyy useana eri versiona omasta levyhyllystä ja bändi on sen parikymmentä kertaa nähty livenä. Tykkään! Tämän levyn ehdoton suosikkibiisini on ”Kevin Carter”.

The tunes are good, if unremarkable when listened to with hindsight. Many of the lyrics sound like they were composed with fridge magnets.

Love it so far a dreamy mix of rock and pop.

On Everything Must Go, Manic Street Preachers sand down some of the abrasive edges of their past and lean into a glammier, widescreen sound that’s undeniably more cohesive—even if it still doesn’t quite click. The hooks are bigger, the production shinier, and the ambition dialed up: “A Design for Life” swells with string-drenched grandeur that feels like latter-day Queen cosplay (and, to be fair, the strings do slap), while “Enola/Alone” nails a crisp power-pop rush. “The Girl Who Wanted to Be God” rides a jangly Britpop shimmer, and “Interiors (Song for Willem de Kooning)” oddly forecasts the earnest churn of early-2000s emo—think Jimmy Eat World before they figured out subtlety. It’s a polished, anthemic pivot that proves the Manics can scale up without imploding, but for all its arena-ready uplift, there’s still a faint emotional remove.

Hardly life changing is it. Sounds like the generic backing track to literally any high school surf movie, really not sure how it’s made it on the list tbh.

Classic MSP. (That's what the cool kids call it). 4

This is one of those rare albums without a single bad track on it. In the CD era when this came out there was nothing I'd skip, and yet there's nothing really transcendent about it for me either, but I feel like I only give this four stars as that's what I gave Definitely Maybe too and that's got Supersonic on it for God's sake. Sidenote: I didn't realise the lanky girl who plays bass (somewhere) on this record has not one but two solo albums. I listened to a couple of tracks and can comfortably say an album of them hoovering would be more listenable.

This may not be the best album in the world, but it did soundtrack my time at university so it has so many good memories. Enjoyable if a little inconsequential.

Some great songs. Love the heavy guitars and he's a brilliant and unique singer.

1: Australia 2: No Surface All Feeling 3: A Design for Life

Meh

I just don't really like them

Britpop Smashing Pumpkins

I've heard of this group but do not think I've listened to anything by them. Not my style.

Had some cool moments but didn’t keep my attention

I get disproportionately excited when albums by Welsh artists appear. I love the Manics and while this isn’t my favourite of their albums, it has some great singles and two of my other favourites; Small Black Flowers that Grow in the Sky, and All Surface No Feeling. It’s a no skip album that makes me proud to be Welsh.

Solid record, it's one of the efforts without one of the original members, and it seems like the band could go on, although in a different direction. It was a good direction, lyrics and the songs overall were great and it remains one of their best albums.

Not bad, not great

IMO the second best Album by MSP. It contains the probably best pop song ever written. Fav: A design for Life

2.5 Appreciate the shift from Holy Bible, but still not my jam. Fascinating background with the disappearance of Edwards

Ok

Not quite as good as the predecessor but still great. If Holy Bible was a 4.5, this was probably a 3.75

Oh great, another entirely forgettable mid 1990s britpop album that sounds like the 20 others on the list.

like it - don't love it

I’m glad I listened to Holy Bible first because otherwise I might not have enjoyed this as much. Not as good as Holy Bible but still very good stuff.

Great rock - like it

Some nice songs in there like Enola/Alone but its globally the type of music that does not catch my attention

More catchy than I expected. Some nice moments and hooks. Enjoyed it.

2/11 Not bad

This list sure does love it’s Britpop, I’m not so sure I feel the same

I remember quite liking this at the time, and I still quite like it.

Pretty vanilla brit pop rock? I'm sure its someones cup of tea, but its not mine.

Probably not an album I'd revisit, but I didn't mind it, and it gets an extra star for the song Australia I want to fly and run till it hurts Sleep for a while and speak no words In Australia, in Australia

I'm a sucker for the strings in this album. Also it is inextricably linked in my mind to Euro 96, my first big footballing memory, being of the same time period.

This was new to me. It didn't quite engage me, but I think it would have if I'd heard it in the 90s.

Okaay but didnt blow me away

Listening session: february 10th, while commuting to internship Listened to before: no Thoughts: this sounds like classic 90s Britpop but then with more interesting chord progressions and instrumentals so it’s quite nice to listen to Favourite tracks: A Design For Life, Enola / Alone & Small Black Flowers That Grow in the Sky

I've mostly not complained about the Anglo-centrism of this list, but c'mon. This is some extremely mid mid-90s Britpop stuff. Utterly forgetable.

Perfectly cromulent.

By far my favorite Brit pop album allocated so far. Love the guitar sound.

Neither hated it or really liked it but it wasn't terrible.

i fear this is my type of music

Sounds dated and preachy, didn’t grab me the way it did in the 1990’s it sounds like the past and not the present.

Anthemic songs with poetic lyrics. Has lost none of its power or emotion over the years. Fantastic album.

Primeira música em homenagem ao teu bairro. Pior que curti A Design for Life, que uso de sentimentos nos acordes diferenciados. Resto do álbum parece ser de banda genérica que faz abertura de show que tu quer ir. Aquele show das 17:30 no Rock in Rio assim, que tem uns fãs, são bons, mas nada de mais. 3*

Not for me

Watered down Oasis, but not terrible. Nice melodies, interesting chord progressions, but a bit too much screaming vocally in places. Not something I would seek out, but certainly much better than some of the garbage on this list.

Ok album, but always felt the Manics were more of a singles band and have never really 'got into' their albums.

I absolutely loathed MSP's previous album, "The Holy Bible," which I found tediously dour. So I was leary of this one - but generally these songs are much less likely to make you slit your wrists, so that's a good start. Sonically and musically, this is somewhere between "The Bends" and "Morning Glory," Brit-poppy, with more nuance than Oasis but more blaring guitars than Radiohead. Overall I really enjoyed this. FOUR STARS

Listened Before?: No! I have literally never even heard of them Pros: I LOVED this album. It was so good and I haven't stopped listening to it since I found it! Cons: None! Songs Added to Playlist: A Design for Life, Enola/Alone, Everything Must Go, The Girl Who Wanted to be God, No Surface All Feeling

I expected to like this, but it evades me. Jangly, but not in a good way. The vocals become grating after a while. It all feels a bit samey?

I forgot to listen but i’ll update this ojay

I know the amount of Britpop on this list is maligned by many and that is fine not everyone will enjoy everything but just try and listen to this album for what it is 12 absolute rippers from one of the best bands to every do it. No, its not The Holy Bible but it doesn't need to be and I personally wouldn't want it to be. The Holy Bible is a masterpiece so why try and outdo yourself in that style when you can release an equally incredible album with such a stylistic change. Its hard to speak about this album without the context of the disappearance of Richey Edwards lyricist and creative force behind the Manics who vanished the year before. How the band managed to release an album so full of hope in the wake of such tragedy is a sight to behold. I will always turn to this album in my darkest moments. There are at least 9 tracks on this album I would include on my playlist if I could Enola / Alone is one of my first favourite songs and was my introduction to the band. No Surface All Feeling is a beautiful closer and a fitting farewell. I could find something positive to say for every song on this album but I'm going to choose A Design For Life. It is of course the popular pick but the undeniable energy of this working class anthem is palpable and I will never tire of hearing it. Playlist track: A Design For Life.

I only knew this band from The Holy Bible, their last album with lyricist Richey Edwards before he disappeared, and from my friend Ava's hyperfixation on them a few years ago. This album came after Richey's disappearance, and it's some solid alternative rock, though I don't think it's as good as The Holy Bible.

Not a single track made any impression on me other than “this is fine I guess.” I feel like we need to shoot for a lot better for albums I must hear before I die

Really struggling between a 3 and a 4 here. Taken as a whole they're not doing anything too different from the usual britpop fare, but then some of these songs do have a certain sauce…. This closer especially is a real treat! I'll round down for now, but I definitely enjoyed the album. Standouts: A Design For Life • Enola / Alone • Everything Must Go • Australia • All Surface No Feeling

Pleasantly surprised by the britpop vibes of this album. It reminds me positively of my favorite stuff by Suede and Pulp. Could be a 5 in the future but right now there are a few extraneous tracks on there for me. Edit: eight months later this is still a regular listen. I've really grown to appreciate it, having had their album The Holy Bible pop up since. Those two felt like polar opposites at first but careful listening has me liking them both. No skips.

Aaaand my next album up is more Brit pop….

Big choruses, loud guitars. Bit like a if you had a less catchy Oasis and the lyricist had read a book or two. Rock music for middle aged dads. Not bad by all means, I can see the appeal.

After listening to The Holy Bible, I definitely listened to this album. Didn't stick with me as strong as THB or Gold Against the Soul. That's not a knock on this album. There's a lot of what I love about the Manics here. It's a good deal poppier than their previous albums, with keyboards and strings here and there, but Bradfield and the crew are doing their thing. I really love a lot of what James Dean Bradfield does on guitar. Really interesting riffs and melodies and beautiful tone. Nicky Wire's bass stands out a bit less here, but the tone is great when it does stand out. "Enola/Alone", "Australia", and "Interiors" are high points. This is like 4.5 on the dot. Of course that's not an option, so... Gotta choose one.

Meh.

I love the Manics!

so forgettable

same slop

I wasn't familiar with any of the songs on this album. It sounded like music I might like, but nothing resonated with me much.

It’s ok. But there’s a bit of transport. I always liked if we tolerate this.

Disturbingly ordinary, in an era of some exciting stuff. What I want to know is what was the buzz around this at the time, as it is bog ordinary. These guys are the Salieris of the 1990's, destined to be be forgotten fairly quickly.

While I respect the Manic Street Preachers' disdain for Britpop as it was happening, I find their music incredibly pedestrian and lyrics pretentious. And what is with those terrible orchestral arrangements? The harps on 'Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier' are baroque and egregious.

This was fun rock and roll. I'd definitely listen again.

also like it

damn they’re yelling a lot I kinda like it tho. And Blackpool mention. Idk if I like this rn it feels like that image of Lois from family guy with the instruments. oh Enola holmes reference! Oh okay strings on small black flowers. Icl im rushing listening to this… the girl that wanted to be god was ok. Gosh this is very predictable. No surface all feeling is nice. Main problem for me was the vocals not the biggest fan

eeehhh... These guys definitely have their moments.

I skipped through tracks. I'm familiar with the band and A Design for Life being on every car advert ever. No business being on this list. I'm repeating myself but Ænima by Tool and Pinkerton by Weezer both came out in 1996. There isn't a single valid argument I could hear to convince me why MSP made the list and they didn't. 2/5.

First I’ve heard of this band. I liked the album a lot. Mostly upbeat and more 90s Britpop than alternative rock. Wonder why it didn’t catch on in US. 2 songs added to playlist. Only reason 4 instead of 5 for me is it isn’t a classic for me.

silly timing that there’s a song called australia iykyk album was nothing special imo

Not a fan at all of the voices but vibing with the music when they stop singing 🫠 having a dance party drinking my coffee. Kevin Carter has inspired the Macarena

Don't like the singing style or melodies It feels like they are going for a different feel than what the songs should be. I don't know how to describe it but something is off. Trying too hard to make pop songs into heavier rock 🤷‍♂️

Me la pasé genial. No conocía a los Manic Street Preachers, y me encantaron sus ritmos buena onda y en general su propuesta musical y las letras. Una pena que haya pasado lo que pasó con el letrista, ojalá algún día ese misterio se resuelva. Me dejo de tarea escuchar los discos que sacaron después de la desaparición de Richey Edwards.

I didn't really listen to this back in the day, but it's pretty good. Revisit

Just very bland and inoffensive.

Decent. Not really my thing.

This gives $5 Solo Cup 1990s keg house party in a college town.

This was not for me. Not pleasing to my ears.

Innocuous Brit Pop. Again.

Good for listening in a radio.

I thought Everything Must Go was a really good album. 90s alternative rock will always just have that sound i totally vibe with and this album has that sound in spades. I was surprised with how well the lyrics turned out and how similar they could be in style to their last album even without their old lyricist (who disappeared without a trace one year before this album came out). But of course, the main star of the show of this album is the music, especially the guitars. They were just so heavy and loud and still managed to have such a melodic slant to them which made them absolute heaven for my ears. I'm not sure i can justify a 5 star rating here but i can do a really high 4 star rating. Best Song: No Surface All Feeling Worst Song: A Design for Life

There's some hidden gems on this for sure

pretty good, never heard of them before. Not a very risky album but a nice listen

Could never get into them, not back then and not now. It does sound more alternative than britpop, but it had no effect on me.

Some fun tunes that I saved, incomplete album. 3.1

Way better than I thought this was going to be, I assumed it was going to be comedy album from the first 15 seconds or so. Great vocalist, better than average band. Really cool melodies and runs. I enjoyed this one a good bit. This is one of those joys of the list albums where I definitely never would have heard it but I definitely get why it’s on here.

Manic Street Preachers are a band that has persevere through some of rock and roll's lowest moments in terms of a band tragedy. You could feel that ooze all over Everything Must Go. Richey Edwards meant more to to the band and their chemistry perhaps more than what he outputted as a member of the band. More than a hypeman, but more of a 6th man in basketball. The Holy Bible is a much stronger work over Everything Must Go, with a good percent of that difference is rooted in the dark lyricism and conceptual theme to Richey. But the band kept playing and had a pretty strong bounce back in spite of the trauma and darkness that led to Richey's disappearance (likely a suicide no matter what the band members and family say). So yeah, I would say Manic are a lot better of a band than Oasis's wankery for "britpop" standards. I think MSP were a bit more of a harder band than the typical britpop 90s act, much more clear punk influence in their music.

It’s okay enough, never heard this before. Will maybe give them a deeper look as time permits.

3.5 stars. better than I expected it to be.

Very forgettable, like that one girl we all know, Generica. You know the one, a pick me who says mundane and useless things about Taylor Swifts hair.

really bad npc music

Tf was that

Probably a 7/10 really enjoyed some songs

My type of music, one song slaps soooooo hard. Enjoyed thoroughly.

Decent nothing special

I’ve tried over the years to figure out why these guys don’t really do it for me and I’ve never been able to quite put my finger on it. Listening to this I think it’s maybe that I’ve heard other bands do what they do better than this. A lot of this album is somewhat reminiscent of Supergrass’ first album but not as catchy or immediate.

Brilliant

First song and i already love this. Great punk sound . I really like his different all the songs are I will definitely be listening to this again

An interesting album because it was the first released after Richey Edwards went missing. I remember watching either a true crime thing about his disappearance or maybe a documentary. That is a sad story for another day but this is about the music. This is probably the second time I tried to listen to their music. The first was after having watched the documentary. I’m not sure I enjoyed it then or I should say it was not memorable to me. The music was like any other Britpop band that was around at the time. Maybe a little better lyrics but maybe not as I still listen to A Different Class today and I probably wouldn’t listen to this again. I listened three times today and nothing stuck with me. It could be the singer’s voice. If it doesn’t resonate with me then I won’t listen again. The music is good. I can say that but I guess I just can’t get into it.

Some songs are bland but only like 2 + some song titles are creative. 4/5

It was enjoyable, but I didn’t love it. I dug the sound and the vibe, but nothing jumped out at me as a favorite new track. I could definitely keep this album in rotation, but I wouldn’t say any favorites came out of listening.

5/10. Probably good for it's time in 96', but it sounds quite dated and bland to me. I imagine if I was a teen at this time, I'd probably have loved this album when it come out. But retrospectively? It's distinctly average to me.

Pretty darn good, reminds me of Pulp with an orchestra and more melodramatic key changes.

This album pleasantly surprised me - I was expecting another self-indulgent, whiny Britpop album, but this seemed deeper both musically and content-wise than others I listened to. I especially liked the title track, which I am surprisingly adding to my normal rotation.

Fun find.

Unfortunately for this band, I got this album the day after I got the Ella Fitzgerald album. So I am acutely aware that the lead singer here has a very thin and not very pleasant voice. I usually don’t mind this alt-pop style of music, but the vocals on this threw me off. It’s a 2.5 star album for me, but I have a feeling I’ll probably round down.

Enjoyed this, some great tunes. It's a nice combination of catchy / power pop vocals with quite rocking guitars which I liked. Less interesting lyrically than The Holy Bible, but definitely catchier

Nothing memorable

Brilliant. Was getting really bored of all the American keech on here.

Helt ok

Låter bra, men ingenting som riktigt stod ut för mig jämfört med mycket annat i genren. Men några låtar och avslutande "No Surface All Feeling" gör att den i alla fall slutar på en stark trea.

Visste typ inte att sån här 90s rock kunde vara såhär bra, men det är vad det här projektet är till för! Ett par liiite svagare låtar mot slutet men resten är så jävla starka så det gör inget!

Jävla nice ba.

Stark fyra!!

baka hindi ko lang talaga trip yung gan'tong genre / type of music

one of those bands where I wanna like them but I cannot tell the difference between their songs

Used to love them, they can be quite annoying now. Design for Life still excellent, No Surface is very good. Australia is bad. Borderline 3-4

Maybe better than I remember. In my mind, the Manics are a bit worthy but this is an easy and rewarding listen

Another band that I’ve heard of but never explored. This was good. Deserves more spins.

to be rated

I've heard of this band but never listened to them before. Sadly, I don’t have much time to write a review as it’s New Years. I really liked this album. It’s pretty basic Brit pop but with a bit of spice to it. It was very noisy and very catchy, with a standout being Small Black Flowers That Grow In the Sky—a very emotional acoustic track written by a missing band member about a zoo tiger who went crazy due to isolation. I didn’t have the time to review this album from a very critical standpoint—especially as I had to keep starting and stopping it—so I’ll rate it from a casual listening perspective: I really enjoyed it but it isn’t something that stands out to me a lot. I am going to try to go back to it later and give it the attention it deserves, but for now, 4/5.

I’d never really listened to these guys before—unless you count the time in summer 2024 when I was being a tourist at Edinburgh castle and walked past them doing an afternoon sound check on my way out through the temporary stadium they’d put up there for a concert that night. They seemed cool—I took some pictures and figured I’d get around to listening to an album or two eventually. Verdict: they are cool! I had fun!

I came across this album back in the 90s and it drifted in one ear and out the other, beige, overproduced and generally disinteresting. They had a handful of decent singles that showcased an ability to coin predictable Britpop fare but this was 12 tracks of solid 'meh' to my teenage ears. Another 30 years have done nothing really to change that, but I did enjoy 'Interiors', which must've passed me by in '96. I probably skipped side 2 to be honest.

Generic brit pop, nothing to see here. 2.5/5

None of the songs really caught my attention.

Having a hard time getting into this one. Reading the Apple album blurb I was surprised to learn they’re British? They don’t sound British. Musicianship is good but I’m finding the lyrics are unclear and not hitting very hard for me. Somehow they are both repetitive and unintelligible. I shouldn’t yuck someone’s yum… I do think the guitar tone and filling riffs are really nice but I can’t get behind these guys. I gotta say I love the humor in the Bands name.. I really wanted to like this but it’s not for me. Best song: no surface all feeling. Australia was a bit fun also.

Heard some of their music before but had never listened to any of their albums. I very much liked this album.

A favourite from my youth- I’m biased. JDB’s voice is great on this.

This is a rare case where I wrote no notes on my initial listen and now, 5 days later, I can’t for the life of me remember anything I might have wanted to say about this record (good or bad). Like, I can’t even recall the general genre anymore; Brit rock, maybe? ”Everything Must Go" indeed. Complete memory hole.

Not my cup of tea. Don't like this style of music that much. At this moment I am not impressed by this album

The girl who wanted to be God? And it's inspired by Sylvia Plath? Oh my dear, my soul burns for this song. Absolutely beautiful artistic merit.

pretty good it kinda gave beachy vibes to me but i think it’s good like background music

The most generic British pop-rock. Completely fine and utterly unremarkable

I liked it but after a day, don’t really recall much from it so that’s why it just gets a 3 star - just wasn’t memorable for me.

A solid entry from a genre I'm a big fan of. This felt a bit non-descript, so I prefer other British indie rock over this, ultimately. It did build good momentum as the album went on, so I have a feeling I might connect with it more on a repeat listen.

It's fine. It's a decent 90s alternative album, but something about it doesn't really strike anything special in me.

As someone who was learning to play guitar in the mid-90s, it was a requirement, not an option, to learn "A Design for Life". Even if you weren't a fan of the Manics. Like it was part of a curriculum. And I wasn't a fan of the Manics. Listening back to this album now, nothing has changed. Bradfield's singing voice still really gets on my nerves. The rest of the makeup of their music is the embodiment of a shoulder shrug, or the word "meh". They put themselves forward as edgy and profound, but they're neither. The disappearance of Richey Edwards hangs heavily over this album. They may have gained a lot more success post-Edwards, but their sound had become a lot more watered down and less interesting than in the days he was around. The arpeggios of "A Design for Life" are the most interesting thing about the music on this album, and after learning to play them, they weren't even worth the effort.

Catching up on this one. Never gone on much of a manics exploration. I might after this one. I really liked it. More upbeat than I expected, poppy with some big songs.

Feels like it suffers from being so influential to other bands, that took the distortion and shouty vocal style. What stood out in the Brit pop era doesn’t now. Solid though.

Ovu albumčinu ne moram ni slušati da znam da je čista petica i jedan od najboljih na cijeloj listi. Manics su mi slaba tačka. Najbolji britanski bend iz devedesetih ubjedljivo i jedan od njihovih najjačih albuma, vjerovatno odmah iza Holy Bible i TIMTTMY (grozan akronim). Žalim što sam ih tek dubinski otkrila prije desetak godina, uprkos tome što se televizija pojačavala svaki put kad naiđe A Design for Life. I dan-danas mi je teško naći dražu pjesmu, općenito. Danas pod temperaturom nisam namjeravala ni slušati album ali je baš pravi došao. Valjda mi je malo zasjenjen ovim još boljim njihovim albumima pa je slušanje baš leglo. Izuzetan album, jedino mi Small Black Flowers That Grow In The Sky nije skroz legla. Uvijek će mi biti smiješno kako su im refreni bukvalni, ide ime pjesme ad nauseam i eventualno još jedan stih uz to (ne smeta mi ni to koliko su mi drag bend). No surface, all bangers.

Same as when it launched: wasn’t impressed then, still not impressed now.

God it sucks that I took this long to listen to Manic Street Preachers. This is that Good Shit, like at three tracks in I was checking to see if there were more albums of theirs on the list so I can listen to the albums of theirs that aren't on the list. Not a 5/5, though I feel further listening could change that.

Wasn't expecting much but this was surprisingly fun. Extremely 90s but I'm down with that.

Wonderful!

I made it through the whole thing, only because I had it playing while I worked. This is absolutely the music type I don’t like. The whiny, sort of nerdy vibe. Not a fan. Listen again: no Purchase for my collection:no Favourite Song: none

more manic street preachers this time around, and i really really like this one. this is the first album they released when richey edwards disappeared... i think i might have discussed this when i reviewed the last album by these guys. compared to their last album this one has a much more traditional and contemporary britpop sound. it's very loud, it's very immersive with its sound... one of the cooler techniques i've noticed is the blend of both acoustic and electric guitars... it's a unconventional pairing but when it works, it works super well. i had a great time listening to this.

A lot of the songs sound the same, but they have that great Britpop song that I love. Good overall.

Pretty cool mix of punky stuff with almost a classic rock sound. Interesting and engaging.

very unique, kinda like ween but less ween if that makes sense

Not for me 1/5 didn’t finish the album 2/5 didn’t keep the album 3/5 kept it and will listen when songs randomly show up on shuffle 4/5 kept it and will listen to it again on my phone 5/5 buying the vinyl

Such a weird inbetween. I doesn't sound that revolutionary, but i still don't think i've ever heard something like this before. It sticks, i love it

Boring

This is just basic britpop, but I liked it more than others from this list for some reason. It was an okay listen, nothing that special but okay.

1.5 stars The UK was into some stuff that made no impact on the US whatsoever. This album was rated best album of 1996 by NME. But it’s boring, generic, forgettable pop rock. Here are better albums from 1996: The Score- The Fugees Odelay- Beck Evil Empire- Rage Against the machine Pinkerton- Weezer All Eyez On Me- 2pac Being There- Wilco If You’re Feeling Sinister- Belle and Sebastian To name a few…

I’m surprised this is the first Manics album I’ve come across on this list. My sister was completely obsessed with the band during her teenage years and plays bass, so I know every track on this record - if only by the basslines. Ironically, she’s far less into them now, while I’ve grown quite fond of their music. This album is strong from start to finish: anthemic, packed with thought-provoking lyrics, and a perfect snapshot of mid-90s indie. Favourite tracks: Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier, A Design for Life, Kevin Carter, Everything Must Go, Small Black Flowers That Grow in the Sky, Australia.

I had an enjoyable time listening to this album - it’s got interesting blends of rock with uniqueness to it. I just cant for the life of me understand why there are so many albums like THIS on the list cause the list people are just big rock heads who are blind to any other genre I swear

Honestly, had really no expectations from this album especially as a lot of the Britpop albums that have been picked are not great at all. But this album, is quite vibrant and fun while keeping all of the elements that make the genre what it is. Surprisingly great alternative album!

Kinda liked it

The reviews writing this off as boring Britpop don't seem to have listened to the lyrics, which are full of politics, metaphor, and righteous fire. Sadly the same can't be said of the rather dull stadium-rock arrangements that accompany them. The album sounds at its best when the band forgo that style in favour of a harder sound, like Enola / Alone.

Indie Brit Pop! I'm tired of this shit. I never like this band when they were popular and now I'm kind of whatever about them. I think the vocals kind of bug me.

Ik vind het geen onaardig album om een keer te luisteren maar het pakt me niet echt. 'Gewoon' of 'Wel aardig' of 'Meh' of 'Ja oké'. Ik heb er weinig over te melden en dat zegt vaak ook wel iets. Ik ben niet kapot van die zanger. Wel drie sterren.

Nicely balanced album by the Manics which makes it one of their best even though the Richey disappearance happened during its making. Well worth a listen.

It’s ok. What else is there to say

Truly fine rock. I'll need to listen again to give a fair rating. 4/5

Not aware of any of the songs although the band’s name sounds familiar. A good listen with a sad vibe. The disappearance and eventual deceleration of guitarist James’s death adds quite a punch to this album.

Pop, fun!

I vaguely recall enjoying one of their other 1990s albums many years back, so I was ready to give this one a shot. But damn, I really don't find much to like or admire here. It has a very maximalist style of alt-rock, with added instrumentation, atmosphere, and background vocals that should make it rich and joyous - but instead it's like window dressing for dreary nothingness of unexciting songs. The vocals are frequently bellowed and the songwriting is giving me nothing. This album has the self-aggrandisement of baroque pop, with none of the splendour; and the whiny indulgence of indie rock with none of the wry, raw or jangly charm. This gives me visceral flashbacks to how tasteless British popular culture of the late 90s and early 00s was. I was planning to give this two stars but by writing this I seem to have talked myself into: 1*

Easy jams

Some good songs

Beautiful album!! I love it!!

This album had highs and lows for me. There were some pretty interesting compositions and the production overall is pretty great, but as a whole I wasn't super into this album. Definitely wouldn't mind giving it a second listen down the road though. 2.75/5

I didn't care for this one. I don't know how to articulate it, but it wasn't for me. It's too much style and not enough substance. The backstory about the missing lyricist was interesting though. 2/5

Further away, definitely my favorite

pleasant, though i can hear the beginnings of future bands that i hate. 3.5

Great album with some great instrumentals. But the sound got repetitive (but annoying)

I really enjoyed this.

46/1001 First listen. I don’t know how I know of these guys and yet have never heard their music before. Somehow not what I expected. Kinda mediocre at first but grew on me after a few plays. I’ll come back to this and probably explore some of their other albums. Actually after 5 more plays I’m giving this another star. 7/10

I liked this way more than I thought I would, may need to revisit!

Surprenant mais sympa!

The British I may remind you have produced many of the greatest artist's of all time, in fact it is possible to create a viable list of the greatest with only British artists.

Good variety. Creative

Great production, huge songs, loved the sound and energy. Just didn’t get the songs to stay with me longer. Not that it isn’t catchy it’s just not that memorable.

I didn't like the vocals on most tracks. A few good musical arrangements. Overall a poor album.

I feel like I just watched VH-1 for an hour. This is fine, perfectly bland yet catchy music. When try to go hard, they sound like they are trying too hard. They sound like Gin Blossoms or post-Iris Goo Goo Dolls. They play alright music but I'd never go out of my way to listen to them. 2

Really not a lot to say about this

There’s 2 and a half songs I really enjoyed on this (Everything Must Go, No Surface All Feeling, the chorus of A Design For Life). Everything else I found just a bit dull

Hooky 90s alt rock

Very enjoyable. Australia was my fave track.

Knew of this group by name only, had no idea of what their music sounded like. Enjoyed it a lot, catchy tunes of a wide variety, jangly guitars, etc.

Absolutely quintessential britpop right here. Has a perfect mix of the fun and energetic style of the scene, as well as its own sense of individuality, with MSP being a band notorious for still doing it their own way.

Pretty generic, probably a 3, but a few songs were mixed in a way that made me feel like my ears needed to pop. Maybe it was the remaster, but the music wasn't memorable enough to listen again and find out.

i enjoyed this more than the holy bible, was more energetic and had more punch

This is a band I’ve been meaning to get into for a while, given their place in “Cool Cymru,” a movement I’ve become fascinated in. This album did not disappoint as an intro to the band. This definitely seems like something I’ll come back to. More accessible but less immediate than Super Furry Animals. The lead vocalist reminds me of Jellyfish at times. As a side note, I find it irritating how often people on this site seem to get an album from the 1990s UK and say “More Britpop garbage.” It’s so reductive! Why bother doing this if you’re just going to judge an album based on its metadata?

No private session used for Spotify. I listened to this album several times yesterday, not my favorite MSP album, but it's good. If I recall, it's their first album since Edwards weird ass departure and it still works.

It was very alright. Super okay

Utterly forgettable

Har försökt lyssna på msp tidigare. Jag vet inte riktigt varför. Men tycker det är rätt trist musik. Inte dåligt. Har några ljusglimtar men jag gör verkligen inte igång. Lite för slätstruket.

En skiva jag inte lyssnat på tidigare. Tycker den var rätt slätstruken efter första genomlyssningen, med undantag för A design for life och Australia, och lutade åt en trea betyg. Efter två ytterligare lyssningar tycker jag dock att den vuxit och jag hittade ytterligare ett par bra låtar. Inget mästerverk, men en svag fyra är det i alla fall tycker jag.

You know what needs to go? This band!! Awful!!! 🤮🤮

Decent album. Prefer ‘This is My Truth…’ rather than this one but a pleasant listen nonetheless.

What an amazing album. Unexpectedly good

Seems like a 90s pop album with only about a teaspoon of garage rock. Nothing really stuck with me, but I didn’t hate it.

I will borrow from a great review I read on here: “Offensively inoffensive.”

Way too glam. Maybe it’s just the vocals that I really don’t like. The music isn’t actually that bad. But I will pass thx.

A fine brit rock record that doesn't particularly standout

this was pretty good. nice discovery

5/10 This is a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde album for me, in that a decent chunk of it feels like there are some decent rock songs that have been massaged into anthemic pop-rock shape by an overenthusiastic producer, while some of the weaker songs have been given a far more straightforward and gritty sound, but don’t really deliver the hooks and songwriting chops of the overproduced ones. One of the things that often turned me off about the overproduced songs, Kevin Carter and The Girl Who Wanted To Be God for example, was the over instrumentation of the tracks. A lot of the strings seem to offer fairly basic padding to the songs, rather than anything particularly interesting, which is a similar story with the harp parts, and it generally towns down the verve and vibrancy of the underlying songs, which is a real shame. It’s almost like these parts are added for the sake of building a ‘bigger’ sound, without any concern for whether it’s actually a ‘better’ sound. When left to a more straightforward rock band instrument lineup, there’s a lot more grit and weight to things, but those overproduced, anthemic production standards just push this too far away from the kind of sound that really engages me with music like this. This overproduction does ease during the second half of the record, which helped to engage me a little more, and there are some strong parts too. Everything Must Go and Australia lean more towards the kind of sound that grabs the ear, and when the production allows the bass and guitar in particular to sit further forward and provide a bit of overdriven grit to things, the sound was way better. The songwriting was pretty good in places, but did have a tendency to meander a little on the weaker tracks, sometimes becoming a little uninteresting and repetitive, but when they landed on a hook, there were some solid moments. Overall it wasn’t a bad album, but I don’t think it was a massively good one either. That’s not to say I don’t see some value in it, but it feels like things were just taken in a direction that doesn’t suit my ear, and the balance of the album, on the whole, feels a little too uneven for me. Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier - There are some nice riffs here and there on this, but it doesn’t quite connect with me. There are some decent moments, but it just doesn’t connect into a coherent whole for me and kind of feels a bit meandering and unfocused. It feels a bit like James Dean Bradfield stretches his vocal a bit too much in places as well and that makes it sound a little stretched. A Design For Life - You couldn’t accuse this one of being unfocused. It’s got good hooks and decent pace, and the pre-chorus into the chorus is really well structured. In all honesty, the production is all a bit too soft for me and if this had a bit more grit and drive to the sound, I think I’d like it more. The strings are just a bit obvious and it feels a bit like the edges have been sanded off the composition. It’s a decent song, but needs a bit more fire for me personally. Kevin Carter - This is another nice moments song that doesn’t bring the component parts into something focused and coherent to my ear. It feels a bit like there’s a decent rock song under there somewhere, but it’s been put through a pop music producers ear, which has made it lose its edge and urgency, so it just feels a bit flaccid as a result. Enola/Alone - There’s a bit more to this. The guitars and bass are given more prominence and there’s a bit more drive and grit to it as a result. The melodic elements to the chorus are pretty good too. It’s a little meandering in places and doesn’t necessarily offer as much development as it could, but tonally, it’s much better. Everything Must Go - Following on from the last track, there's a bit more fire to the production here. There’s a great melodic flow to the chorus, and I like the transition out of the back of the chorus too. It’s got a good bit of momentum to the rhythm section. It’s perhaps a little cluttered and the drums could do with sharpening up to give a bit more clarity, but otherwise it’s a pretty decent track. Small Black Flowers That Grow In The Sky - This is quite pretty, although I feel like the harp glissandos are already feeling a bit overdone on the record without this one where they’re drastically overused. Again, it all feels a little too overproduced and a bit more restraint would have worked wonders. The Girl Who Wanted To Be God - A promising start leads to something that again feels unnecessarily augmented with strings. When the strings drop out, this is much better. There’s more space for the lead guitar and vocal to breathe and it helps to give everything a bit more punch. Look, I love a string arrangement, but they just feel like they’re there for the sake of trying to make it more anthemic, but it just softens things too much without adding real value. This could be a really good song, but it's kind of ruined by being overworked. Removables - This is tonally a lot better. It feels a bit like a demo in that there’s a decent skeleton to it, but it feels a little underdeveloped. It’s kind of a stark difference to the preceding track, which was overproduced. Another one where there's something there that, to my ears, they haven’t quite found the heart of yet. Australia - This is more like it. Again, the band are given more space to breathe, it has a bit more drive and the production suits things a lot more. There’s still an edge of the anthemic production to the chorus in particular, but it takes a more subtle backseat and lets the band get on with being a rock band. The melodic choices here are great and it has some solid hooks and a nice guitar solo. Pretty good. Interiors (Song For Willem De Kooning) - Things meander a little bit too much here, particularly the vocal, the melody of which just seems a bit forced to me. It never really lands on anything to give the song a solid centre and just sort of flounces about. The production is a bit more gritty and rewarding here, but unfortunately the song is less gripping to me. Further Away - The production is sticking with the more rocky side of things now, which is doing the music a lot of favours. There are some nice melodic movements here, particularly in the chorus. It’s not particularly interesting in its development of ideas, and it does get a little bit repetitive as a result, but it’s otherwise a pretty decent little song. No Surface All Feeling - Another where the production delivers more of the sound that I’m looking for. It’s got a decent bit of weight to it, and some really nice dynamic shifts between the verse and chorus. It builds nicely as the bass and guitar ramp up through the verse and then the weight kicks in with everything except the vocal, which stays pretty limp in the chorus, unfortunately. Give this a bit more emphasis and drive to the vocal in the chorus and we could be cooking with gas. Unfortunately, it just falls short in that part.

OK, for the most part. But I can think of a handful of bands off the top of my head that sound exactly like this one, and can name at least a dozen albums from others which are better but aren’t on the list at all.

Fine for 90’s rock, but not special. I think a better voice might help the sound.

3.5

Meh.

One thing I’ve learned is that I really dislike Brit Pop. The vocals tend to be incredibly whiney, and I have no patience for that. This bloke, however actually has what sounds like a highly crafted voice, kind of reminds me of James LaBrie of Dream Theater. Kind of. So, don’t hate it. Not a huge fan, either, but I don’t hate it.

I only knew the band by their name. If anyone had asked me about one of their songs - nope. No idea. This is a really nice recording - digging the 90s sound. Vocals are mixed pretty straightforward directly into your face. Guitar sounds very warm, drums are also very gently embedded into the mix. The album sounds pretty organic as a whole. Kind of Britpoppy / punky. I don't know if I will listen to this ever again - possibly not. Not because it's bad but because I don't know why. :-)

This was fine. It was not the worst in the British pop on this list by a long shot, but it's not really the best either. I hate to do another cop out three start for that, but I don't know what else seems fair.

I had to listen to this two times because I was left a bit impressionless the first time I listened... but I have to say I almost cringe at this band... it just oozes of pretentiousness. The band name, the lyrics, the vocal style of the singer, the chord progressions, etc. Everything just feels so... forced? The singer sounds like he's exhausting himself just by vocalizing the lyrics. There's also very little dynamics in his singing. It always sounds like he's screaming his heart out. The chord progressions and melodies of most songs also feels very... awkward and doesn't feel natural to me. Often times a song takes an unepexted turn for the better, but here it's always for the worse somehow. The start of the album was by far the worst, it got much better at the end. 'Australia' is actually not too bad of a song, with a very catchy chorus. 'Interiors (Song For Willem De Kooning)' is also decent with its catchy guitar riff. And the album ends with one of the strongest songs in 'No Surface All Feeling'. The end of the album totally saves this from a 1 for me. Ends up being a 2 instead.

Bland brit pop. Not bad but nothing stuck during my two listens. I think part of the problem is that there are too many albums of this sort on this list. Giving it a strong 2 for now.

meh.

- Had only ever heard some of their singles (e.g., A Design For Life, Enola Alone) but not a full album. It was okay, not super memorable, but it does get better the more you listen to it. - Wasn’t prepared for such a bad start - the singer's voice is intolerable on the first track. If you can’t hit the high notes, please don’t. Also, the song is unmemorable other than the bad singing - why start an album with that? Also dislike Kevin Carter because of the verse - but, the “Stealth Sonic Orchestra Remix" at the end of the album I listened to was good because there were no vocals! I also liked the other Stealth Sonic Orchestra Remix of Motorcycle Emptiness. - Was hoping for more but wish the lead singer’s voice was less out of tune and had more range. His vocals on the last song on the version I listened to, the acoustic version of Everything Must Go, made me want to die. - I enjoy sad lyrics over compelling memories, so I was wishing I could understand what he was saying more, but, then I heard "Harvest your ovaries dead mothers crawl” on Small Black Flowers that Grow in the Sky. I read the rest of the lyrics to the song, and now I’m glad that I don’t understand. I’m not a poetry connoisseur, but this is all very cryptic, unenjoyable, and basically feels like pretentious bad poetry. And so wordy, so it feels like he’s often forcing the words into the melodies. - Some nice instrumentals - synths, strings, and horns (but they couldn’t save Kevin Carter, lol). Definitely the highlight of the album for me.

Den sidste vi havde med MSP var faktisk ok interessant og lød anderledes end alt det andet 90’er alternative vi har haft. Det er den her ikke

Det er ret godt (A Design for Life er en banger!) men skiller sig ikke så meget ud. Vi har klart haft sjovere britpop, inkl den anden Manic Street Preachers plade vi havde.

Ends on a banger which eventually turns this "ok" brit pop into a good one.

this has a 3.11 here. it is also in top 10 britpop albums on rateyourmusic. i choose to trust the pretentious music nerds today. because if there's one supposedly overrated genre that i love from the depth of my heart, its britpop. and its not even stereotypical britpop, its more indie britpop. why would all you hate this? And its a 4!

Honestly super enjoyable but bloated even at 45 minutes. Nothing world shattering but I could imagine this being a great live show in the 90s.

Aivan kelpoa britti rokkia, vähän sitä samaa kuin muukin 90 britti rokkia. Mutta keskivertoa parempaa, ei kummiskaan ihan 4 tähteä. Parhaat: A Design for Life, No Surface All Feelings

The Manics, and particularly Generation Terrorists (probably not on this list), were a definitive band for me growing up, and I just saw them a couple weeks back, so there's no chance of an unbiased review. This album, coming off the astonishing, coruscating The Holy Bible (probably on this list somewhere) and the loss of Richey Edwards, is where their situationist, glamorous art rock kind of transforms into a stadium, anthemic sound, while still singing about Kevin Carter, Willem de Kooning and caged animals. They really went their own way through the 90s. Too important to me to give it anything other than five stars. Libraries gave us power.

This is one of those bands where I know the name but don't know the music. Now I know why.

Wanted to love it, but the highlight was realising where the theme song for a childhood show came from. Bumping to a 3 for them also being Welsh.

Never heard of these guys, but based on the reviews they had a fantastic earlier album that I'm now looking forward to. Strong start with Elvis Impersonator, and I really liked Everything Must Go. 4*, close to 5.

Exceeded expectations

Better than average indie pop.

OK. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it.

whatever

not my scene but still nice!

Never heard of these guys, but enjoyed the album