Resistance Is Futile is the thirteenth album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 13 April 2018 by Columbia Records.

Described as "widescreen melancholia" and an attempt to recall the sound of Generation Terrorists and Everything Must Go, the band said that the album came together after some "old school hard work", focusing deep on every song so they could be "as best as possible".

[6] The themes behind the album are memory and loss, forgotten history, confused reality, and art as a hiding place and inspiration, with the band releasing further information saying that "It's obsessively melodic – in many ways referencing both the naive energy of Generation Terrorists and the orchestral sweep of Everything Must Go.

After delay and difficulties getting started, the record has come together really quickly over the last few months through a surge of creativity and some old school hard work.

[9] Concerning the title of the album, Wire admitted that it's just a bit of "confusion", saying that: "I just can't navigate myself through the digital hysteria and political insanity of the current times.

"[10] Bradfield tackled the subject of whether this could be the final album by the band, saying that: "People secretly like to know when things are going to end and for something to have a finite time span, but I instinctively rail against that.

[25] The lyrics were written by James Dean Bradfield, rather than Nicky Wire, and inspired by disenchantment and Nye Bevan's old Labour.

Nicky added that: "It was on the Everything Must Go (anniversary) tour and I got up really early at sunrise to walk around Liverpool, polaroid camera in hand on a balmy day.

[2] AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album a positive review stating that: "If the music unabashedly co opts the past, the songs all deal with the present, mixing up the personal and political in equal measure.

First, it comes on strong-all sharp edges and gleam-but once the blare fades, the melodies and their accompanying sweetness lingers, leaving a lasting impression behind.

[38] As for James Gareth from Clash he said that "the strident jangle of 'Liverpool Revisited' is fittingly evocative of the 'Everything Must Go' era, having been written during a visit to the city for the 20th anniversary tour of that album.

'Sequels of Forgotten Wars' is the closest in sound to the lithe industry of 'Futurology', while 'In Eternity' pays emphatic tribute to Bowie, with an evocative lyric: "Closed the curtains in LA / Opened them up on a Berlin day.

[43] Will Hodgkinson, on the other hand, writing for The Times, said that the band were "confronting their dwindling returns after three decades in the game", but nevertheless they had made their "best album in years".

[44] As for Mojo magazine, they gave a positive review of the album, stating that: "Beneath the surface sheen, Resistance Is Futile is a complex, multi-layer work", awarding it 4 out of 5 stars.

Musically, Bradfield is in fine form throughout as he adds thick layers of guitar and some of the most inspired riffs of his career.

"[45] From musicOMH, John Murphy gave a very positive review of the album, saying that "For those who thought that the life of Manic Street Preachers was winding down to a conclusion, Resistance Is Futile is a fine riposte."