The album was released on 14 February 2025 and reached number 2 on the Official UK album chart.
In a February 2025 interview with NME , Wire and Bradfield stated they were considering making their sixteenth album European themed.
On 31 January 2025, preceding the release of Critical Thinking , an extended play was released, titled Brushstrokes of Reunion , comprising the songs “Brushstrokes of Reunion”, “People Ruin Paintings”, “Hiding in Plain Sight” and “Decline and Fall” from Critical Thinking .
Critical Thinking , which was announced in October that year.
On 29 August 2024, Manics released ” Decline and Fall “, the lead single for their fifteenth studio album,
All four band members were honoured with a mural in their hometown of Blackwood in April 2024, designed by street artist Paul Shepherd.
On 24 June 2023, the band played the Glastonbury Festival . Speaking to the Other Stage crowd, Wire said: “The first time we played was 1994 and it was the four of us, we had the one and only Richard Edwards with us, oh yes, we had a f**king blast.…
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In September 2022, the Manics announced a co-headlining tour of United States and Canada with Suede for November 2022, which would be the first time the two bands would share the stage since they toured Europe together in 1994.
In 2022, the band released the single “Like a Ghost” with a B-side cover of Johnny Thunders ‘ “Pirate Love”.
In May and June 2022, Manic Street Preachers opened for the Killers in some of their UK tour dates.