Taking time off between releases, Bradfield and Wire both took to purging themselves of the missteps that riddled their respective writing corners. Bradfield released his solo record The Great Western, an album of tracks influenced by the likes of New Order or Electronic- cold synths rubbed shoulders with personal introspection via the conduit of it all, The Great Western, a train he’d ride to see his dying mother. Wire released I Killed the Zeitgeist, a rabble rousing and audacious album of The Jam-inspired punk rock spirit. Fresh, both were now ready to start anew.
As such, Send Away the Tigers feels like a heartfelt apology to every fan they’d ***ed around and made look in odd directions over the years. At 10 tracks and just under 40 minutes long, Tigers is carefully constructed pop that fits the ‘Everything Must Go meets Generation Terrorists’ manifesto set out upon. Hooks real you in like fish on bait at the choruses, with the crunching chug of “Underdogs” proving to be one of the bands punchiest singles in years. Likewise, “Imperial Body bags”, “Rendition” and the title track all prove without question that the Manic’s can still bounce with effervescent energy and rock the Gibson Les Paul in vicious fashion.
Apart from the moments of straight forward uplifting pop and hard rock however, Send Away the Tigers stifles its own identity by simply being far too simplistic for its own good. Nicky Wire pens some of his worst lyrics in some time, with the prettiness of tracks such as “I’m Just a Patsy” and “Your Love Alone Is Not Enough” being undermined by the newly rudimentary pen of Wire. Of course, Wire is nothing like Richey Edwards when it comes to lyrics but to say these lyrics deserves more depth is an understatement- they require far more work than is given to them. At times, like the Guns N’ Roses’ idolizing of “Autumn song”, it seriously undermines the heavy hitting anthemic nature with trashy lyricism to boot.
But to criticize Tigers for being too simple is a contradiction. If they were to have released the B-Sides for the record, full of experimentation and frugal lyrical depth, the band would have been eagerly torn apart for their lack of earnest and precocious nature to attempt to experiment after their past and its given context. Naturally, Tigers is the apology the Manic’s fan base needed at the time, and while post-reunion excitement has seen it age somewhat poorly, it set them up for what is arguably one of Rock & Roll’s finest nostalgia trips and a deserving close to one of the bands most significant chapters.
Tracklist for Send Away The Tigers:
1. Send Away The Tigers
2. Underdogs
3. Your Love Alone Is Not Enough
4. Indian Summer
5. Second Great Depression
6. Rendition
7. Autumnsong
8. I'm Just A Patsy
9. Imperial Bodybags
10. Winterlovers
As such, Send Away the Tigers feels like a heartfelt apology to every fan they’d ***ed around and made look in odd directions over the years. At 10 tracks and just under 40 minutes long, Tigers is carefully constructed pop that fits the ‘Everything Must Go meets Generation Terrorists’ manifesto set out upon. Hooks real you in like fish on bait at the choruses, with the crunching chug of “Underdogs” proving to be one of the bands punchiest singles in years. Likewise, “Imperial Body bags”, “Rendition” and the title track all prove without question that the Manic’s can still bounce with effervescent energy and rock the Gibson Les Paul in vicious fashion.
Apart from the moments of straight forward uplifting pop and hard rock however, Send Away the Tigers stifles its own identity by simply being far too simplistic for its own good. Nicky Wire pens some of his worst lyrics in some time, with the prettiness of tracks such as “I’m Just a Patsy” and “Your Love Alone Is Not Enough” being undermined by the newly rudimentary pen of Wire. Of course, Wire is nothing like Richey Edwards when it comes to lyrics but to say these lyrics deserves more depth is an understatement- they require far more work than is given to them. At times, like the Guns N’ Roses’ idolizing of “Autumn song”, it seriously undermines the heavy hitting anthemic nature with trashy lyricism to boot.
But to criticize Tigers for being too simple is a contradiction. If they were to have released the B-Sides for the record, full of experimentation and frugal lyrical depth, the band would have been eagerly torn apart for their lack of earnest and precocious nature to attempt to experiment after their past and its given context. Naturally, Tigers is the apology the Manic’s fan base needed at the time, and while post-reunion excitement has seen it age somewhat poorly, it set them up for what is arguably one of Rock & Roll’s finest nostalgia trips and a deserving close to one of the bands most significant chapters.
Tracklist for Send Away The Tigers:
1. Send Away The Tigers
2. Underdogs
3. Your Love Alone Is Not Enough
4. Indian Summer
5. Second Great Depression
6. Rendition
7. Autumnsong
8. I'm Just A Patsy
9. Imperial Bodybags
10. Winterlovers