Manic Street Preachers return with new single "Decline & Fall" from upcoming 15th album
Alex Lake

Manic Street Preachers return with new single "Decline & Fall" from upcoming 15th album

Alan Pedder

Fresh from a string of sold-out co-headline shows with Suede, Welsh rock trio Manic Street Preachers return today with new single "Decline & Fall". It's the first taste of the band's as-yet-unannounced 15th album, which was recorded partly at their own Door to the River studio in Newport, South Wales, and partly in nearby Monmouth, and produced by long-time collaborators Dave Eringa and Loz Williams.

The track is said to be inspired by "all-time Manics favourites" The Skids, as well as The War on Drugs and Gran Turismo-era The Cardigans, whose vocalist Nina Persson features on Manics' 2007 single "Your Love Alone is Not Enough".

Writing in the press release, the band say:

“Musically with ‘Decline & Fall’ we tried to create forward motion - a song which harnesses the past to propel it into the future – the lyric is one of realisation and understanding – of celebrating the tiny miracles that still exist whilst accepting and embracing managed decline”.

Listen to it below:

The release of "Decline & Fall" coincides with the 30th anniversary of their singularly dark and abrasive third album, The Holy Bible, which proved to be the last they'd make with lyricist and guitarist Richey Edwards, who mysteriously vanished six months after its release. To mark the occasion, the band will hold a special screening of their 2016 "anti-concert film" Be Pure-Be Vigilant-Behave tonight (30 Aug) at London's Picturehouse Central.

The film was shot a decade ago, on a 20th anniversary tour for The Holy Bible, and directed by Kieran Evans. Watch the trailer below:

The band have just one show coming up, performing at Radio 2 In the Park festival in Preston, UK, on 8 September.


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Alan Pedder

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