TEN years ago, they seemed indestructible; a towering Welsh beast, blessed with a melodic knack of making a full-on rock thrust appear strangely symphonic.
In recent years, the inconsistencies that had been apparent in even their finer albums have opened to gaping cracks.
Not since the three songs that opened This is My Truth Tell Me Yours have they enjoyed the sense of serenity and strength that defined those classic moments.
Against the odds, and behind an evocative sleeve, Send Away the Tigers remains solid throughout 12 individually constructed songs, each one hanging on that precarious balance, where a new acoustic vision clashes against a rockier familiarity.
Lyrical themes, courtesy of Wire and delivered by Bradfield, have softened with maturity. "What have you done to your hair?" screams the singer, at one point, and one has to search hard for references to Sartre, Camus and Rimbaud.
Enjoyable throughout... which is more than anyone could reasonably expect.
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