The Manics always trail their best albums with real statements.
‘International Blue’ is one of their strongest. James Dean Bradfield turns his larynx red raw with passion, anger and furious self-belief.
Nicky Wire’s bass gives him and the song a strong backbone to bounce off and Sean Moore’s drumming pounds through your whole body so hard you’ll get heart palpitations for days afterwards.
This, then, is The Manics at their vibrant, angry best and sure proof that, even thirty years on, they still have real life about them.