Postcards from a Young ManColumbia ****

On their (goodness me) 10th studio album, the Manics have dropped somewhat the socio- political analysis and arty references and taken a Route 1 approach. This is big, ballsy pop music that was written with the express intention of getting radio play - "one last shot at mass communication," as James Dean Bradfield has it. By the time the first three songs ( It's Not War, Postcards from a Young Manand Some Kind of Nothingness) come to an end, you feel like you've been sonically assaulted by Phil Spector and Philip Larkin. It's as fine a trilogy of songs as they've ever put together. Then, just as you're coming down from the indie pop rush they pull out Hazelton Avenue, which could be the kindly uncle of Motorcycle Emptiness. Collectively, this is as punchy as Your Love Alone Is Not Enough, and also operates as a bit of a masterclass in composition and execution. See manicstreetpreachers.com

Download tracks:Some Kind of Nothingness, Hazelton Avenue