Manic Street Preachers have sorted out all the details of their forthcoming new full-length, meaning we now have a title, release date, tracklisting and all the other good stuff that comes with new release news.
Title-wise, the Welsh trio are going with Journal for Plague Lovers, which is set for a UK release on May 18. As previously reported, the Manics enlisted Steve Albini to produce the record and filled it primarily with past lyrics written by long-missing band member Richey Edwards, who disappeared in 1995 and is now "presumed dead". And since the band have described the album as the follow-up to their 1994 effort, The Holy Bible, it makes sense that Journal for Plague Lovers will again feature an original painting by Jenny Saville, the artist who did the artwork for The Holy Bible.
In a statement, the Manics said of Edwards' lyrics: "The use of language is stunning and topics include The Grande Odalisque by Ingres, Marlon Brando, Giant Haystacks, celebrity, consumerism and dysmorphia, all reiterating the genius and intellect of Richard James Edwards."
There's no word on a domestic North American release date for Journal for Plague Lovers but there's a tracklisting.
Journal for Plague Lovers:
1. "Peeled Apples"
2. "Jackie Collins Existential Question Time"
3. "Me and Stephen Hawking"
4. "This Joke Sport Severed"
5. "Journal For Plague Lovers"
6. "She Bathed Herself in a Bath of Bleach"
7. "Facing Page: Top Left"
8. "Marlon J.D."
9. "Doors Closing Slowly"
10. "All Is Vanity"
11. "Pretension/Repulsion"
12. "Virginia State Epileptic Colony"
13. "William's Last Words"
Title-wise, the Welsh trio are going with Journal for Plague Lovers, which is set for a UK release on May 18. As previously reported, the Manics enlisted Steve Albini to produce the record and filled it primarily with past lyrics written by long-missing band member Richey Edwards, who disappeared in 1995 and is now "presumed dead". And since the band have described the album as the follow-up to their 1994 effort, The Holy Bible, it makes sense that Journal for Plague Lovers will again feature an original painting by Jenny Saville, the artist who did the artwork for The Holy Bible.
In a statement, the Manics said of Edwards' lyrics: "The use of language is stunning and topics include The Grande Odalisque by Ingres, Marlon Brando, Giant Haystacks, celebrity, consumerism and dysmorphia, all reiterating the genius and intellect of Richard James Edwards."
There's no word on a domestic North American release date for Journal for Plague Lovers but there's a tracklisting.
Journal for Plague Lovers:
1. "Peeled Apples"
2. "Jackie Collins Existential Question Time"
3. "Me and Stephen Hawking"
4. "This Joke Sport Severed"
5. "Journal For Plague Lovers"
6. "She Bathed Herself in a Bath of Bleach"
7. "Facing Page: Top Left"
8. "Marlon J.D."
9. "Doors Closing Slowly"
10. "All Is Vanity"
11. "Pretension/Repulsion"
12. "Virginia State Epileptic Colony"
13. "William's Last Words"