Manic Street Preachers – People Ruin Paintings Review

Whether a note on Just Stop Oil protestors throwing liquids at Perspex protective shields or that time a woman tried to recreate the face of Christ on an oil painting, People Ruin Paintings takes on the art we can see. Manic Street Preachers’ road to Critical Thinking has been laden with potholes but they are persevering. Ironic their lead single, Decline and Fall, may sound given the band’s route from influential powerhouses to pop-rock followers, but People Ruin Paintings gets the group back on track. A floaty, softer guitar sound for this single works wonders for the band. Name-dropping painters has never sounded so neat, though its central point is a little lost. Good. Bury it. A self-scrutiny heard on earlier tracks from Critical Thinking lived or died on those moments of reflection but People Ruin Paintings has a lighter flourish which works exceptionally well.  

Nicky Wire sounds in fine form here, the best he has done for this album cycle. Sweet percussion notes and a delicate guitar track come across not as filled with fear but charmingly calm. People Ruin Paintings features the most culturally associated of all Manic Street Preachers songs from Critical Thinking so far. Jackson Pollock to Vincent Van Gogh and back again, to see where we can fit ourselves into the great creations of history. Where Decline and Fall struggled to leave much of an impression both instrumentally and lyrically, People Ruin Paintings does not. Effective worldbuilding based on art history Wire sounds fascinated by is paired with some slick yet simple guitar work. Ultimately, Manic Street Preachers has created a soft song with nice fundamentals. That is a far stretch better than the material preceding it, and long may we celebrate that.  

Destruction of the truth is where Manic Street Preachers lose their way. What is truth and how does the band define it? Unknowable at this point. Critical Thinking would hopefully linger on the importance of truth in a world filled with falsehoods but doubts are hanging over the band as capable of bringing this heavy message to lighter tones. They succeed on People Ruin Paintings but one out of three successes in blurring their tone and outlook on the world is no great running. At least second single Hiding in Plain Sight shifted itself in the right direction. Slick guitar work is the route through to the heart of their meaning, but what it means when we get there is yet to be seen. People Ruin Paintings cannot stand on its own, yet it serves as a reminder of what the Manics can do.  

Though the soft approach works well for People Ruin Paintings, it runs adjacent to a lighter form still which weakened their material on Decline and Fall. Manic Street Preachers works best with their commentaries on life and it works for People Ruin Paintings because they remember not to be light about their lyrical perspective. What becomes a slightly heavy song is countered by the refreshing and welcoming instrumentals. A balance like this is what the band needs to make good on and, for the most part with this piece of cultural commentary, it works. Wire and the gang may still be vague in their intent and comments, but it is a far stretch better than the preceding singles from Critical Thinking.