In the rhythm of your voice I find space to rejoice
The deluxe edition of The Ultra Vivid Lament offers two demos for “Complicated Illusions”. The first one is a short Nicky Wire home recording, featuring Wire going through the extended chorus – the gentle strum and the vocal melody are pitch perfectly in the realm of I Killed the Zeitgeist which nearly two decades from its release continues to stand as the perfect definition of Wire’s independent voice in songwriting. By the time the song had been given to James to flesh out – per the second demo where Bradfield goes through the entire song with an acoustic guitar accompaniment – the strum has received a jubilant rhythm and the vocal melody has been uplifted and now has a wholly different melodic step to it despite following the same rough guidelines. It’s a really interesting comparison shot between how two songwriters treat the same snippet.
James’ version of course made it to the album in the end, with a fully configured arrangement in line with the rest of the album (lots of pianos, twinkling keyboards, etc). James’ demo also featured a vocal double track in the chorus which gave it an almost gospel-like twang, and that has flowed into the final version. “Complicated Illusions” isn’t a song of praise but it has the feel of spiritual enlightment which James channels through the uplifting, rising choruses – think “Let Robeson Sing” once more, just a little less obvious in its inspiration. The word that keeps coming to my head is “pure”, like a clean beam of light glimmering above the song – which may not make sense to anyone but me, but that’s the mental image that pops through. It’s pristine and shimmering, and the ever so slightly reminiscence to the aesthetics of Lifeblood in its production may be the reason behind it.
“Complicated Illusions” is blissfully (and ironically) uncomplicated, letting its aching melodies shine without any unnecessary excess or edge. It’s a sincere pop anthem in the vein of the previous album’s “Hold Me Like a Heaven”: straight to the point but basking its in its beauty and creating something genuinely uplifting out of it. It’s a beautiful anthem so direct that you automatically put your guard up first, but the rise of the chorus cracks the mightiest of armours – the sincerity and earnestness of the Manics giving into this melodic lushness is irresistable. There’s a tinge of wistfulness to it – there always is with this band – as Wire breaks down his loss of faith in the old truths he used to believe and now seem nothing but elaborate lies i.e. complicated illusions, and describes it with a mournfully delicate touch. But James’ arrangement is like finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and realising that not everything is lost.
The band more or less gave up on the album’s promo campaign after they managed to land the #1 spot – mission complete I guess? – and “Complicated Illusions” was released as the third and final promo single so quietly that I had completely forgotten about it until now. There was no single cover or a music video, though a lyric video directed and illustrated by Kieran Evans was released. The designation of the song was a promotional single felt like a token move with no real effort behind it, but if that turns out to be the reason why this might one day end up in some form of Complete Singles type collection, then good. It’s the sudden beautiful gem of the album that may not be the flashiest compared to some of the immediate highlights, but suddenly becomes the song that I’ve found myself maybe repeating the most on its own, outside the context of the album.
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