Postcards From A Young Man Thread

[starstruck]

Originally Posted by slatex

Out of curiosity! I always listen to new music/96kbps myspace clips and demos of new songs/artists, so most first listens usually are rubbish quality. I've been an avid fan since You Love Us (Columbia) was released & purchased everything I can of the group, I listen to leaks but insist on never sharing them. I'm a DJ also, so do always wish to hear things ASAP

fair enough, each to their own! from my side, i get seeking out rare, unreleased and "banned" stuff, but i have endured too many disappointing pirates & leaks passed on to bother with them anymore.

[slatex]

01 The Holy Bible
02 Generation Terrorists
03 Know Your Enemy
04 Journal For Plague Lovers
05 Postcards From A Young Man
06 Everything Must Go
07 Lifeblood
08 This Is My Truth
09 Gold Against the Soul
10 Send Away The Tigers

[franny]

Thanks Richian, SATT has got a tissue and wiped away the smudged eyeliner and is thinking about a good night's sleep.

Kaile, surely intentional, did you not think to include YLAINE?

[slatex]

Originally Posted by leericketts

fair enough, each to their own! from my side, i get seeking out rare, unreleased and "banned" stuff, but i have endured too many disappointing pirates & leaks passed on to bother with them anymore.

I spend a lot of money on music & hardly ever listen to leaks by the way! Also, never really bother with downloading films as I prefer to see the genuine finished product & like to support the artists/industry.

[Mr Richey]

Okay, so I've got my review done. You all know my rating system from my Journal For Plague Lovers review – marks out of 5 stars, just like in iTunes and Windows Media Player. So here we go:

1. “(It’s Not War) Just The End Of Love”
The opening guitar riff, with Sean keeping time, sets the tone of warmth inherent in this song before the main riff kicks in with sweeping strings (whose similarity to “Stomp” by Steps is at once disturbing and treacherously enjoyable). I think warmth is basically what this song is all about; from the production to the instrumentation to James’ vocal, it’s all about creating a lush atmosphere of musical tenderness. In that regard, the song is a success. Although some have complained that the lyrics are devoid of anything to enjoy, I’d disagree in that there are one or two lines that I really enjoy (such as “To feel forgiveness you’ve got to forgive / it’s lost on me, I believe in revenge”) and overall the lyric serves the music. What really lets this song down badly is the lack of an interesting middle eighth, something to change things up a bit. Instead, we are given the bog standard guitar solo in place of another verse. This is really what infuriates me about “…Just The End Of Love” because a middle eighth would help this song rise above being a decent tune. But it’s not there and so, sadly, this is never more than a decent bit of rock pop of the same calibre as “You Stole The Sun From My Heart”. I can see what they were aiming for and, as a result, I can see how it could’ve been so much more.

RATING: 3/5

2. “Postcards From A Young Man”
I remember when Send Away The Tigers came out that people insisted on the fact that “Indian Summer” was a poor imitation of “A Design For Life”. Personally, I never agreed with that; I find “Indian Summer” to be one of the few really enjoyable moments on SATT. But with this album’s title track I think the Manics finally have created a poor imitation of one of their greatest songs. The whole feeling of this number is basically an echo of it and it doesn’t do anything for me as a result. The chorus is awkward, with a melody and delivery that don’t sit right. Whilst the album opener at least has some degree of urgency to it, “Postcards…” doesn’t seem to have any. It doesn’t push forward and take you along with it. I would’ve given this a 2/5 but the end section, with the triumphant crescendo and the “I will not give up and I will not give in” just about manages to raise the rating for “Postcards From A Young Man” because they are genuinely uplifting and invigorating – and epic as all hell. But otherwise, a fairly bland waste of space on the record.

RATING: 3/5

3. “Some Kind Of Nothingness”
Next up is the duet with former Echo and The Bunnymen singer Ian McCulloch. In a word, this song is glorious; wonderful melody, beautiful arrangement and a pretty good lyric from Wire. When I first heard that PFAYM would feature gospel choirs I really didn’t like the idea. That’s not because I object to the sound of gospel choirs, but that I couldn’t see how it would work in context with a Manics song. I’m thankful to have been so wrong because it absolutely works. If there were one thing I’d criticise about the song it would be the duet, not because McCulloch doesn’t give a good performance but because it feels extraneous. This song would’ve worked just as well with Bradfield singing the entire thing himself. Nevertheless, “Some Kind Of Nothingness” stands as a wonderfully uplifting moment on the album. It’s a real heart-on-the-sleeve song and contains one of my favourite lines on the record; “There’s beauty doing nothing at all.”

RATING: 4/5

4. “The Descent (Pages 1 & 2)”
A stern marching beat and a winding string section bring a very interesting feel to “The Descent” that instantly reminds me of Hunky Dory era Bowie. Although some will complain that the song doesn’t really go anywhere, I personally feel that the wistful character the song has makes it a lot of fun. This is probably going to be one that people either love or hate, as I can’t really explain in great detail what I like so much about it – it just captures something for me and the melody sticks firmly in my head.

RATING: 4/5

5. “Hazleton Avenue”
One of the songs apparently written during the 2009 American tour, “Hazleton Avenue” is a wonderful bit of pop. This is probably the song that comes closest to emulating the style of SATT in that it’s the most simplistic melody and has a similar atmosphere to “Autumnsong”. I would argue that this is much more interesting than “Autumnsong” though and certainly a better lyric. All that being said, it’s pretty lightweight stuff and doesn’t really amaze on repeated listens. So not a bad song by any stretch of the imagination but certainly nothing earth shatteringly different. Enjoyable pop is about right.

RATING: 3/5

6. “Auto Intoxication”
We start once more with a very Hunky Dory style guitar chord sequence – that also sounds like a more upbeat version of “All Is Vanity” – before the drums kick in and we have a sturdy little rocker. Doesn’t seem like much at all at first, then the pre-chorus comes in and we’ve got a very atmospheric bit of instrumentation (almost Pink Floyd like melody) before the song suddenly bursts open on the chorus and rocks like all hell breaking loose. This puts the low key opening into perspective and all these elements together work to make “Auto Intoxication” a fantastic song. If any track from PFAYM has anything in common with predecessor Journal For Plague Lovers, it’s “Auto Intoxication”, which could’ve sat quite happily on that record. We have the lushness of the rest of PFAYM plus the jagged punk energy of JFPL all in a song that is so good it’s a surprise to find it wasn’t a victim of Manics B-Side Syndrome. A fantastic moment of joyful aggression and, in my opinion, the best track on the entire album.

RATING: 5/5

7. “Golden Platitudes”
One of the most wonderful moments on Journal For Plague Lovers was the Nicky-penned “Marlon JD”, a song that he not only wrote the lyrics to but also the music. Here again The Wire has written the entire track himself but “Golden Platitudes” proves to be a very different beast. It initially made me think of some of the quieter moments on This Is My Truth... as, like them, it’s a real slow burner that gradually builds up momentum and mood. Gospel choirs again here, adding a very lovely background to the music itself. One of the most appealing aspects of the song for me is that it just takes it’s time and doesn’t rush things. We’re treated to a very Beatle-esque ending with chanting and big strings again. Actually, the whole song has an Abbey Road feel to it so I’d say this is the result of the Manics listening to that album again. Overall, a very enjoyable number with some real depth and atmosphere – exactly the opposite of the surface level thrills dished out by SATT.

RATING: 4/5

8. “I Think I’ve Found It”
Manics do 80’s Queen…badly. It’s probably the weakest moment on the entire record. There’s nothing exciting or interesting about it, it just comes along and does it’s thing and then it’s gone. The lyrics are pretty terrible too. “I Think I’ve Found It” is an incredibly forgettable number, probably because it sounds like so so many other rock/pop numbers from the last 20 years. Utter filler.

RATING: 2/5

9. “A Billion Balconies Facing The Sun”
Ex-Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan takes over bass playing duties from The Wire on what proves to be one of the most irritating moments of the entire album for me. Why irritating? Because musically this is fantastic. There is a real Generation Terrorists feel to some of it, especially the over-the-top lead guitar lines post chorus. The chorus melody is fantastic and very catchy and the whole song just rocks. BUT…the lyrics are so bloody ignorant. This is Nicky Wire (a man who uses Twitter) complaining about the evils of the internet. No matter how much I enjoy this song for it’s music and no matter how hard I try to enjoy Bradder’s excellent singing and try to ignore what he’s actually singing about, I just can’t do it. For me, this could’ve been a 5/5 easily but the lyrics stop it from getting there.

RATING: 4/5

10. “All We Make Is Entertainment”
The other truly fantastic moment on the album next to “Auto Intoxication”. This slowly builds up with some atmospheric synths and acoustic guitars before launching into one of the Manics biggest and most commercial guitar riffs ever. And it’s bloody wonderful. I especially enjoy Sean’s drumming on this one! Here we have an example of Nicky’s complaining done properly as he bemoans the current state of the UK and how things have gone to the dogs. Nobody does that better than the Manics for me and there’s a great lyric here in the “This country is a clearing house for heaven, a clearing house for hell”. Just love that line. This should be a single in my opinion – which means it probably won’t be – cos it’s got catchy-as-hell written all over it. Great stuff.

RATING: 5/5

11. “The Future Has Been Here 4 Ever”
The Wire’s favourite word – forever – comes up yet again, along with his incredibly divisive vocal style. If that serves as the musical equivalent of a giant flashing neon warning sign, then so it should; this is not a very good vocal from Nicky. “The Future Has Been Here 4 Ever” is the other real stinker on the album. Sean’s trumpet makes a return but I wish he hadn’t bothered really, as the trumpet does nothing for this particular song. I can imagine a haunting trumpet line would’ve been really wonderful on something like “Golden Platitudes” but here it just sounds totally out of place. There are some truly awful lyrics too (especially a reference toThe Godfather Part III) that don’t help matters much. Whilst “I Think I’ve Found It” is forgettable, this is just something you’ll want to forget. It’s not a dirge like “Wattsville Blues” was, but it’s not enjoyable listening either.

RATING: 2/5

12. “Don’t Be Evil”
The last track on the album is going to end up getting a lot of grief from fans. It’s not a bad song, it really isn’t. It’s a decent little rock number that would’ve sat very nicely in the middle of the album. It might even have made for a fun b-side. But sticking it here, at the end of the album, was the biggest fucking mistake the Manics made with this record. It’s not an album closer at all. That’s why I think people will hate this song at first, because they’ll be judging it based on where it is on the album. As I say, I like it as a simple rock number – which is all it is, it’s nothing special – but it’s positioning lets it down hugely.

RATING: 3/5

So, after several listens now, I’m happy to go on record as saying that PFAYM is a fun, enjoyable and interesting album. In a couple of places it’s brilliant; in a couple of places it’s dire. But as an album I much prefer it to the shallow, surface-level pleasures of SATT and think it does a better job as a complete album than GATS (which is half a fantastic album, half a shit album). There’s musical and lyrical depth here that makes PFAYM a lot more than simply SATT part 2. I didn’t expect anything nearly as good as JFPL this time around and that’s fine - we didn’t get that! What we did get though I am pleased with. It’s a fine addition to the catalogue, and it's certainly worth buying, so it takes 6th place in my album rankings.


1. The Holy Bible
2. Everything Must Go
3. Journal For Plague Lovers
4. Generation Terrorists
5. This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours
6. Postcards From A Young Man
7. Send Away The Tigers
8. Gold Against The Soul
9. Lifeblood
10. Know Your Enemy

[nocultureicons]

We have the same favourite two songs.

[Mr Richey]

For the record, yes, I've already ordered the single CD edition and the vinyl

[nocultureicons]

Oh yeah... me too. For the record. Well, not the vinyl.

[Slideling]

Originally Posted by nocultureicons

We have the same favourite two songs.

Seconded.

[Winterlovers]

memento box, cd and vinyl were ordered by me!

[nocultureicons]

Originally Posted by Richey83

12. “Don’t Be Evil”
The last track on the album is going to end up getting a lot of grief from fans. It’s not a bad song, it really isn’t. It’s a decent little rock number that would’ve sat very nicely in the middle of the album. It might even have made for a fun b-side. But sticking it here, at the end of the album, was the biggest fucking mistake the Manics made with this record. It’s not an album closer at all. That’s why I think people will hate this song at first, because they’ll be judging it based on where it is on the album. As I say, I like it as a simple rock number – which is all it is, it’s nothing special – but it’s positioning lets it down hugely.

Should probably have ended with Golden Platitudes.

[Mr Richey]

Originally Posted by nocultureicons

Should probably have ended with Golden Platitudes.

I'd say either that or "All We Make Is Entertainment".

[nocultureicons]

Originally Posted by Richey83

I'd say either that or "All We Make Is Entertainment".

That was my first thought but the closing moments of the song didn't sound enough like the end of an album to me.

Needless to say I'll be shifting it around and deleting songs when all the bsides have been released. Byesibye 'I Think I've Found It'.

[Mr Richey]

I'm certain there will be b-sides that I'll prefer to the lesser moments on the album. There always is! Except for JFPL, which had no b-sides.

[nocultureicons]

Originally Posted by Richey83

I'm certain there will be b-sides that I'll prefer to the lesser moments on the album. There always is! Except for JFPL, which had no b-sides.

Yeah, the only albums I listen to as they were 'intended' are The Holy Bible, Everything Must Go, Lifeblood and Journal for Plague Lovers.