10 Manic Street Preachers Hidden Gem Songs
2. Europa Geht Durch Mich
And then, in 2014, the other Manics experiment, Futurology, was released. Those fans who had been hankering for the band's inevitable new wave krautrock, dance-punk phase could rejoice, as their time was nigh.
Beginning with a driving bass line and what almost sounds like a siren, this track is somehow no-nonsense whilst, at the same time, being complete nonsense. Which, some might argue, is when the Manic Street Preachers are at their best, anyway. Never has a band been able to flit between navel-gazing pretentiousness and exuberant silliness with such aplomb (at least, whisper it, not since The Beatles).
This track features German actress Nina Hoss on (German-language) vocals in what has been described by the band as a celebration of the influence they get from travelling Europe and seeing different cultures and art. It is a beguiling track from an infuriating record, which, it could be argued, speaks to the band's ambition as artists. Surely art is supposed to attract a range of strong emotions. This record certainly does that. You may not always like what you get from the Manics but they're always interesting.