The Manics entered into a fourth decade of albums with their fourteenth full-length overall, 2021’s The Ultra Vivid Lament. Self-consciously steering clear of COVID and its impact as lyrical grist, it scored the first UK number one album for the group in over twenty years, well-deserved given its warm, clean feeling, a sense of long-needed comfort listening. “Still Snowing in Sapporo” starts the album on that fine note, while “Blank Diary Entry” features Mark Lanegan as a vocal guest in one of his last performances before his tragic passing.