Manic Street Preachers have released a new single today (Friday 10 January), the latest cut from their forthcoming 15th album Critical Thinking, due out at the end of this month. A stirring, jangly number titled People Ruin Paintings, it follows the release of previous singles Decline & Fall and Hiding In Plain Sight. The latter was the first Manics single to feature a lead vocal from bassist Nicky Wire.
Writing about the new single in promo materials to accompany Critical Thinking, the band explained the lyrical themes and sonic influences behind People Ruin Paintings:
“The narcissism of adventurers + explorers, the hypocrisy of the carbon footprint - the empty evangelism of the television travel show drenched in a cynical inverted nihilism. Man’s insatiable addiction to discover and use. The gentle lilt of 10,000 Maniacs. Musically the three of us playing telepathically, referencing thirty plus years of playing together instinctively.”
