This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Like countless British bands, Manic Street Preachers are beloved in their homeland — but can’t get arrested on this side of the Atlantic.
It would be nice to think Lifeblood, their seventh studio set (and fourth release since the still-unsolved 1995 disappearance of troubled guitarist Richey James Edwards) would be the one to turn the tide. Well, maybe it will and maybe it won’t. But there’s no maybe about the fact that Lifeblood is a magnificent minor masterpiece that stands as the Manics’ most consistently strong disc in years. In a passionate 45 minutes, the trio deliver a dozen lush, darkly shimmering epics of artful arena-pop that recall a blend of The Cure and early U2. And just for icing on the cake, they namedrop Morrissey and Johnny Marr, and sample Richard Nixon. Arresting isn’t the half of it.
