Manic Street Preachers - Postcards From A Young Man

Manic Street Preachers - Postcards From A Young Man

There are undoubtedly two sides to Manic Street Preachers. The political side which was most evident on The Holy Bible, or the radio friendly side with melodies which anyone would find hard to dislike.

So when The Manics returned with an album both James and Nicky describe as "one last shot at mass communication" It doesn't take a genius to figure out what you would expect from their tenth album.

And it doesn't disappoint either. Postcards From A Young Man opens on the brilliantly catchy single (It's Not War) Just The End Of Love, leading away from this is the title track followed by the superb Some Kind Of Nothingness.


The album is everything you would expect from modern day Manics, James' Lyrics are strong as ever, The Catchy guitar riffs are ever present throughout also.

something perhaps a little different however is the backing gospel choir and Strings arrangements through the album. It certainly makes it more anthemic and brings the sing along feel to each track.

And this is where Postcards From A Young Man will split fans. If you're a big fan of Generation Terrorists or The Holy Bible then this album is completely opposite.

However if you grew up (like I did) to If You Tolerate This or A Design For Life, then Postcards From A Young Man will certainly please.

The Manics are keeping well within the safety lines here but I still think it works very well and will keep the majority of their fans pleased.

8/10

Northern Soul

Listening to:

Manic Street Preachers - Postcards From A Young Man - All We Make Is Entertainment

A few albums

It's been a while since either of us have posted on here, But I suppose I should keep up the blog, if for nothing else than for my own personal satisfaction. I've never been much of a writer (as may be evident) but when there's something I'm passionate about I just love to talk about it.

The last album review I did was Flaws by Bombay Bicycle and instead of doing a full album review, I will give a brief summary of some albums I've heard since then and give a couple of ratings. Why not hey?

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

There's no denying this album is critically acclaimed, pretty much every review i've read has been glistening, So I was bitterly disappointed that after multiple attempts, The Suburbs just didn't grab me at all. It's their longest album to date, over an hour long. And an hour of well just boredom for me. The sound is still there but there's no highlights. It's just a drab affair. My rating - 4/10



The Book Club - The Book Club EP

Since the split of Milburn in 2007 there has been a big void in my musical life. The Sheffield band were one of my favourites and were extremely under rated. After the split they went their separate ways, a lot of failed attempts but now it looks like Joe Carnall may finally return with a band who despite their own style still sound like Joes former band. This short 4 track EP shows promise and has a couple of outstanding tracks in What Was Said On The Landing and Justice For The 96 My Rating - 7/10


Interpol - Interpol

My favourite band returned this year without Carlos Dengler (though he did play on the album). Interpol is an album which wont draw any new fans and could quite possibly draw some fans away. The album is very dark, Nothing on the album would immediately shout single with the exception of Barricade which almost doesn't fit in with the rest of the album. Whilst I'm a huge Interpol fan I'm not blind enough to say this album is fantastic or a masterpiece. It's certainly their weakest to date and a challenging listen. But there are some good songs on the album if you give it time. My Rating - 6/10


O. Children - O. Children

Another new band i've stumbled across recently thanks to a friend are the London band O. Children. The album is brilliant. They have the sound of White Lies. Lead singer Tobias O’Kandi strong haunting voice may have you hiding behind the couch however! I seriously recommend checking them out. If you're a fan of White Lies or love the whole post punk movement they will be your cup of tea!

My Rating - 8/10


Northern Soul


Listening to:

Manic Street Preachers - Postcards From A Young Man - Some Kind Of Nothingness