It's remarkable given the solemnity of the Manics previous album, the suitably reflective ode to Richey that was 'Journal for Plague Lovers', that they have, this time around, managed to raise themselves out of the funk to create an exuberant album filled with lush orchestration and fantastic, sing-along tunes.
From the off with the raucous '(It's Not War) Just the End of Love' you begin smiling and the feeling doesn't wear off through title track 'Postcards From a Young Man' or 'Some Kind of Nothingness’ either, the latter being augmented on vocals by Echo and the Bunnymen's Ian McCulloch.
This leaves the overt politics of some former albums - 'The Masses Against The Classes' and 'This is My Truth, Tell Me Yours' - in the background, although not gone altogether and instead the trio's aim is squarely on entertainment. Direct hit.
This newly replenished zest harks back to the daft punk thrills of 'Generation Terrorists' in some ways but the weight of maturity they also imbue their songs with is what makes them stick in the mind. They still have a huge enthusiasm for their art and – despite the occasional jarring Nicky Wire lyric (hey it's not a Manic's without a couple) - this latest addition to their cannon is as fine as they’ve ever been.
www.manicstreetpreachers.com
www.mekongdelta.co.uk
