Postcards From A Young Man
Ok, so not as good as last year’s exceptional return to form Journal For Plague Lovers, this is still easily the second best Manics album since 1996, and is a huge step above the dross of their bleak middle of the road period. An album that’s very different from Journal For Plague Lovers, but one that fully cements the revival – the Manics are good again! If Journal For Plague Lovers was the ‘new’ Manics’ The Holy Bible, then Postcards From A Young Man is their Everything Must Go. The songs are far more radio friendly and palatable than on the last record, but they are still based on high quality songwriting. The musical scope of Everything Must Go is also in evidence again here, and there are thematic parallels too. Where Everything Must Go was about wiping the slate clean and moving forward following Richie’s disappearance, Postcards From A Young Man is a backwards looking, reflective record. The lyrics mourn the loss of youthful idealism, but also critique the foolish certainty of the young. I particularly like the bittersweet ‘Hazelton Avenue’ and the single ‘(It’s Not War) Just The End Of Love’, but there’s not a bad track on show here. I’m so pleased that Journal For Plague Lovers wasn’t a one off, even if this record isn’t quite of that high standard.
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