 JOURNAL FOR PLAGUE LOVERSManic Street Preachers Sony 4.5 stars On February 1, 1995, Richard James Edwards, rhythm guitarist and lyricist with Welsh alt-rock outfit Manic Street Preachers, disappeared. He was declared presumed deceased in November of last year. And now, 14 years after he vanished, Journal for Plague Lovers features lyrics left behind by Edwards. And it is what it always would be – awash with intense emotion, anger and nostalgia. From ‘William’s Last Words’, with its simple strings and Nicky Wire’s delicate, fragile vocals (who else could sing “Good luck, my sweetheart/You're the best friend I ever had”), and ‘Marlon J.D.’, a veracious ode to Marlon Brando, to ‘She Bathed Herself in a Bath of Bleach’, condemning the corrosion of love, this 13-track LP is a profoundly moving tribute – I was really taken away.
 LOVE & WAR
Daniel Merriweather Universal 4 stars I had my doubts about this album even before I pressed play – mainly because of the quote from the Herald Sun affixed to the cover (‘A modern Australian classic ... Australia’s next big thing’). But my cynicism quickly dissolved with the opening line of opening track ‘For Your Money’ – “New York, she sits and cries/She’s had her moment of glory”. It’s a hauntingly beautiful track about city life, and sets the bar quite high. It is immediately followed by the Motown-esque grooves of ‘Impossible’, perfectly complimented by Merriweather’s inspired vocal acrobatics. And this Mark Ronson-produced album doesn’t really miss a beat from then on. It’s a little bit Amy Winehouse, a little bit Joss Stone (but not so tacky) – he’s a modern-day classic soul wunderkind.
 ALIGN THE PLANETS
In Case of Fire Sony 3 stars Northern Ireland prog-rock trio In Case of Fire have finally unleashed their debut Align the Planets – and I say finally, because they have already supported luminaries such as Queens of the Stone Age, 30 Seconds to Mars and Funeral for a Friend, et al, as well as played numerous big festivals like Oxygen. From opener and single ‘This Time We Stand’, with its soaring vocals and heavy riffs, this album is thick and fast. Highlights include ‘Parallels’, with its slow intro that builds and changes tempo, and closing four tracks ‘Violence and Enemies’, ‘And Sorrow’, ‘A Pale New Costume’ and ‘Second Revelation’, that all thrill with spirited vocal stylings, melding with rapid chord progressions. I would like to see a bit more variation on their next release however – generally it’s too thick and fast all the time to make me really enjoy it. But that’s just me.
 GRAFITTI SOUL
Simple Minds Universal 3 stars It’s hard to believe Scottish rockers Simple Minds have been around for over 30 years – remember their massive single ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ from the soundtrack of cult film The Breakfast Club? After attempting to recapture the New Wave edge of their post-punk roots on 2005’s Black & White 050505, Grafitti Soul is a lot more accessible, and certainly polished to an airwaves-ready sheen. It features eight solid pop-rock songs followed by a couple of bonus tracks. Frontman Jim Kerr is in magnificent voice all the way through, especially on ‘This Is It’. But ‘Light Travels’ and ‘Blood Type O’ are the highlight tracks for me. I love the hints of Bowie and Eno that run through. They’re certainly not planting flags with this, but it’s a good addition to their repertoire.
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