Well well well, My initial comment was just a joke. But being up to my eyeballs in codeine and vodka prompted me to laugh at everything you posted. In fact, even in my sober state it's all still so very very funny. :sleep:

:rolleyes: hehe i like the way you say it seems far too polished and then proceed to namecheck Lifeblood and This is My Truth as your top 2 albums....the two most polished albums they've done to date!
I love a bit of Manic 'gloss n polish' from time to time myself anyway so i'm not havin a go, just observing! ;)

:lol:

I really hope you're somehow right.

Love the album

Postcards and The Descent are personal favourites!

I even love the one Nicky sings! Now, that's a first!!

I particularly love the one Nicky sings, they're a rare treat the ol' Nicky songs.

Slightly disappointed after first listen but I trust I'll grow to like it more.

Don't agree, you still had the rawness of Im not Working and the awkwardness of SYMM on TTIMT and Lifeblood was a very dark atmospheric album. This new one just isn't the Manics.

GT is 'The Manics'. End of. And it's not very dark or atmospheric. It was an attempt to take intellectually informed lyrics and set them to music which would appeal to the masses.

I don't think the Manics really do 'atmospheric' very well ('This is a song/this is a song/this is a song/etc...' - I'd actually dispute that claim!).

They do bombastic and singalong choruses very well. And I love this album. For my money it carries on the thread from GT. This is the Manics.

IMHO...

My ranking of the albums:

1.Lifeblood
2.JFPL
3.THB
4.EMG
5.PFAYM
6.TIMTTMY
7.SATT
8.GT
9.KYE
10.GATS

Wow! I listened twice from Start to Finish last night after work.
On First listen I really enjoyed Some Kind Of Nothingness, Auto Intoxication (sounds very JFPL), A Billion Balconies Facing The Sun and All We Make Is Entertainment (sounds very Queen).
Then on Second listen Postcards From A Young Man, Hazelton Avenue (Gorgeous), I Think I've Found It and The Future Has Been Here 4 Ever jumped out at me a lot more.
I've got to say I'm really happy with what I've heard after two listens and it sounds how I wanted it to in my head beforehand.
It's really bugging me though, I feel as though I've heard Hazelton Avenue somewhere before, not sure?
But yeah, LOVE it.

I thought it was Some Kind Of Nothingness that was Nicky's music, not Golden Platitude?

You can not seriously be comparing Postcards to GT? Completely different and it is not the Manics. GT had fire, arrogance, fantastic guitar work, glam rock and punk attitude. Postcards just seems to plod along and attempts to do bombastic just for the hell of it instead of a song structure. I completely disagree about the Manics not being able to do 'atmospheric' very well. 1985 has a completely reminiscent feel that accompanies the lyrics extremely well, To Repel Ghosts has an excellent atmosphere to it, If you ask me the Manics don't do full on pop music very well.

Manic Street Preachers Discography

Generation Terrorists (1992)
Gold Against the Soul (1993)
The Holy Bible (1994)
Everything Must Go (1996)
This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours (1998)
Know Your Enemy (2001)
Lifeblood (2004)
Journal for Plague Lovers (2009)

Well, I think 1985 and TRG are two songs on LB which do work exactly because they are full on pop songs with singalong choruses.