Back in May, legendary Welsh rock veterans Manic Street Preachers announced that they were in the studio finishing up not one but two new albums. Following 2010’s Postcards From A Young Man, the first offering is the largely acoustic Rewind the Film due out September 16 on Columbia Records. The video for the album’s title track debuted today (watch it in the clip above, and check out the album artwork below).
“Rewind the Film,” the song, is a melancholy tune with guest vocals from Richard Hawley, the former Longpigs guitarist who went on to find success with Pulp and the Arctic Monkeys. For Manics fans, it’s strange hearing this song sans James Dean Bradfield’s signature vocals, but somehow it works; Hawley’s voice sits perfectly over this somber, nostalgia-tinted track. The video follows an elderly man wandering through a lonely Welsh town before partaking in a lively game of bingo with the locals.
“Rewind the Film” serves as a good indicator that the rest of the music on the album of the same name will be mellow, a far cry from the punk-meets-glam style of the Manics’ earliest days in the ‘90s. Never afraid to shake up their sonic template, the Manics are again switching gears with relative ease. Now more than two decades into the Manics’ career, “Rewind the Film” showcases both their maturity and versatility.
Rewind the Film can be pre-ordered on all formats (including vinyl) from the Manic Street Preachers’ official website. The band will tour the UK and Ireland in September supporting the new record.
