"Everything Must Go" has a very minimalist cover. The title, a pair of empty brackets and simple pictures of the three band members: James Dean Bradfield staring out at us; Sean Moore and Nicky Wire introspectively looking inwards. This gives the impression it's going to be as lyrically bleak, initially difficult - and altogether awe-inpsiring - as "The Holy Bible".

Lyrically, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the bleakness is still there - especially in those numbers penned by Richey. "Kevin Carter" being about the Pulitzer prize-winning photographer who killed himself; "Small Black Flowers That Grow In The Sky" concerning itself with the helpless plight of caged animals in zoos; but nothing as bleak as the track "Removables". Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but all these songs provide the armchair psychologist with much to ponder over as to Richey's state of mind prior to his disappearance.

By contrast, those songs written by Nicky Wire seem to be preparing the way for a clean slate: "Further Away" appears to be a (relatively) straightforward love song; and the title track especially with its "And I just hope that you can forgive us, but everything must go" refrain. And although it's probably about something completely different, "Australia" could have been written about Richey - "I want to fly and run till it hurts, sleep for a while and speak no words in Australia" - perhaps Nicky's hope Richey is out there somewhere.

Musically, there are no great surprises but much to impress. "Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier" is a very strong opening with its crashing guitar-driven bitter and angry chorus. The aforementioned "Everything Must Go" is another stand-out track, definite next-single material. More upbeat than "Design..." and with a killer chorus, this is the Manics at their best. At the opposite side of their musical repertoire, "Small Black Flowers.." is a beautiful and poignant song, whereas "A Design For Life" and "No Surface All Feeling" represent that other area the Manics excel at: the sweeping, epic power ballad. Both great tracks. And is it just me, or does "Interiors" sound like "Nothing Can Stop Us" by St Etienne?!

This is an LP with hardly any filler at all, the remaining stand-out tracks being for me "The Girl Who Wanted To Be God" and "Australia". First class.

This for me is one of the LPs of the year so far - if not the best. Highly recommended indeed.