Futurology review – Manic Street Preachers front up well to middle age

There are more signs of a (whisper it) maturing Manics sound on their 12th album. Its urgent, sloganeering rock and bellow-along references to German expressionism mark a return to type after 2013's largely acoustic Rewind the Film, but the musical touchstones – Krautrock, Bowie, early Simple Minds – carry more than a whiff of the heritage rock mag subscriber. Still, no chance of paunchy homage here; lyrics cluttered with Munch, war and the Chartists and the tightly coiled energy of its best moments, such as Misguided Missile and instrumental closer Mayakovsky, suggest they are fronting up to middle age rather well.