''Even in Exile'' is the second solo studio album by the

Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, Blackwood in 1986. The band consists of cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Sean Moore (musician ...

vocalist and guitarist

James Dean Bradfield James Dean Bradfield (born 21 February 1969) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He is known for being the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. Biography Early life B ...

. The album is a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

based on the life and death of the Chilean activist, singer and poet

Víctor Jara Víctor Lidio Jara Martínez (; 28 September 1932 – 16 September 1973) was a Chilean teacher, theater director, poet, singer-songwriter and Communist political activist. He developed Chilean theater by directing a broad array of works, rang ...

, with lyrics by poet and playwright Patrick Jones (the older brother of Manic Street Preachers bassist,

Nicky Wire Nicholas Allen Jones (born 20 January 1969), known as Nicky Wire, is a Welsh musician and songwriter, best known as lyricist, bassist and secondary vocalist of the Welsh alternative rock band, Manic Street Preachers. Prior to the group, Wire s ...

). It was released on 14 August 2020 by record label MontyRay, and reached number 6 on the UK Albums Chart.

Release

In June 2020, two preview songs were released, "There'll Come a War" and "Seeking the Room with the Three Windows", followed up by the album's first single "The Boy from the Plantation" being premiered by

Steve Lamacq Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio station BBC Radio 6 Music. Early life He attended The Ramsey Academy ...

on 1 July 2020 on

BBC Radio 6 BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...

. The album was released on 14 August 2020. Bradfield also released an accompanying three-part podcast "Inspired by Jara" discussing Jara's life and enduring cultural influence.

Music

Influences

A concept album of the poet's life, ''Even in Exile'' drew inspiration from the

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

. In addition,

cited

Man A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromo ...

and their album ''

The Welsh Connection ''The Welsh Connection'' (stylized on the cover as ''Welsh-Connection'') is the eleventh album by the Welsh rock band Man and was released on the MCA Records label 1976. It was their first MCA release, and the first after a change of line-up th ...

'',

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

and ''

Meddle ''Meddle'' is the sixth studio album by English rock band Pink Floyd, released by Harvest Records. The album was produced between the band's touring commitments, from January to August 1971 at a series of locations around London, including EM ...

'', German musician

Nico Naftiran Intertrade Company Société à responsabilité limitée#In Switzerland, limited (NICO) is a Switzerland, Swiss-based subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). NICO is a general contractor for the oil and gas industry. NIOC bu ...

and ''

The Marble Index ''The Marble Index'' is the second studio album by the German musician Nico, released in November 1968 on Elektra Records. The avant-garde sound introduced in the album—a stark contrast with her folk pop debut, '' Chelsea Girl'' (1967)—was th ...

'', as well as

Johnny Marr Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher, 31 October 1963) is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has since performed with numerous ...

and the band Rush as influences on ''Even in Exile''. Discussing the record's influences with ''

LouderSound ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form a ...

'', Bradfield stated that "I was actually able to pick up bits of stuff that I was influenced by but wasn't aiming for".

Style

Patrick Clarke of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' lauded ''Even in Exile'' "a personal

prog-rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

epic". Steve Crabtree opined that the record displayed a "musical range", including

Latin music Latin music (Portuguese language, Portuguese and es, música latina) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America (including Music of Spain, Spain and Portuguese music, Portugal) ...

, progressive rock, and

soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...

Reception

''Even in Exile'' was generally well received by critics. Patrick Clarke of ''

'' called it "a deft, heartfelt and above all personal record that pays fitting tribute to Jara's immense legacy, all the while providing a platform for some of Bradfield's finest songwriting in recent years".

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

praised "how it respectfully salutes Jara while conveying the emotions and ideas stirred within the singer/songwriter". Nick Harris of ''

DIY "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and sem ...

'' complimented parts of the album, but criticised its lack of focus. Damien Morris wrote in The Observer that: "There’s one word in the first song that proves why Manic Street Preachers remain such an important band. Their frontman, James Dean Bradfield, that pocket pugilist with a valley chorister’s voice, has made an album–length tribute to Víctor Jara, the Chilean musician and activist murdered by Pinochet’s mob."

Track listing

Charts

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Even in Exile 2020 albums James Dean Bradfield albums Progressive rock albums by Welsh artists