Manic Street Preachers ahead of Sabrina Carpenter in race for this week’s UK Number One album 

Editor Stephen Hill 18th February 2025

Manic Street Preachers have surged ahead of Sabrina Carpenter in the race for the UK Number One album this week.  

The Welsh group is racing toward the top of the charts with their newly released record, *Critical Thinking*, marking their 15th studio album and following 2022’s *The Ultra Vivid Lament*.  Achieving the top spot by the end of the week would represent their third chart-topping UK album, a feat they first accomplished in 1998 with *This Is My Truth, Tell Me Yours*, and again with their 14th LP.  

Hot on their heels is US pop sensation Sabrina Carpenter, whose summer album *Short N’ Sweet* has made a comeback on the charts with the release of a new deluxe edition last week, placing her in second position. 

A mere 2,700 units separate them, according to the Official Charts.  The Wombats currently sit in third place with *Oh! The Ocean*, their fifth album to reach the UK Top 10. 

In fourth place are PARTYNEXTDOOR and Drake with their collaborative album *$ome $exy $ongs 4 U*. 

A sustained position could mark PARTYNEXTDOOR’s second Top 10 entry and Drake’s 14th.  Recently, the Manics’ album received a glowing four-star review from NME, where Andrew Trendell remarked on its powerful opening, featuring “the motor-mouthed, sabre-rattling bassist and lyricist [Nicky] Wire aghast and rudderless in a fractured world.” 

 “Sonically, *Critical Thinking* echoes the European modernist propulsion of their 2014 renaissance record *Futurology* and the graceful ABBA pop flourishes of the 2021 predecessor *The Ultra Vivid Lament*,” the review enthused. 

“Its uplifting warmth alongside provocative spikiness captures an essence inspired by their teenage art-pop and indie heroes—perfectly crafted for the crackle of a record or the buzz of a cassette.”  During this time, Nicky Wire and James Dean Bradfield of the band shared with NME the inspiration behind the new material as well as their ambitious plans for a future “European” 16th album.  

“The only thing I attack on this record is myself,” Wire said regarding *Critical Thinking*. “The moral judgement on this album reflects a mirror, except for ‘People Ruin Paintings’, which takes a broader view. 

The title track, ‘Critical Thinking’, expresses a distinct lyrical intensity and serves as a poignant reminder to the self: the brain is as crucial as any muscle.  “You have to go to the gym for the brain, which, for me, was writing everything down and seeking different perspectives,” he added. “I know it may seem nihilistic and narcissistic; it’s simply the reality. We don’t have the luxury to interrogate what kind of album we want to make or how we achieve it.