Know Your Enemy

05/03/2001 6:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Jon Wiederhorn

On their new album, Know Your Enemy, precious Welsh rockers the Manic Street Preachers seem to take a cue from Nick Drake, Stereolab, Blur and others who've enjoyed success on the television advertising circuit. "Oh, please stay awake/And then we can drink some Ocean Spray" sings James Dean Bradfield over the sinuous guitar line and steady beat of "Ocean Spray." You can just picture a blissful couple lying in the hot sand holding cold bottles of cranberry juice high in the air. Of course, the Preachers aren't really aiming for the American ad market, but their sixth album is the most Yank-friendly disc they've released in years.

While the group's last two records have been majestic, pretentious, and overly polished, this one is more urgent and inviting, running the gamut from Beach Boys whimsy to Jesus And Mary Chain bluster. And the band takes a more playful approach than ever to its arrangements. The aforementioned "Ocean Spray" is colored with dreamy trumpet lines, "Wattsville Blues" shivers with sedated Mick Jagger-style vocals, dusky guitars, and cheesy drum machines; and "Miss Europa Disco Dancer" pulses with undulating guitars, seductive bass, and gliding synth lines." And those who cherished the band's old populist agenda will be pleased to know that "Baby Elian" and "Freedom of Speech Won't Feed My Children" keep the revolution alive and kickin'.