The manic street preachers are only the second band to release two singles simultaneously into the charts. So why so sad and found that soul are the first tasters from the bands sixth album ‘know your enemy’. So Why So Sad is the more commercial of the two, on first listening I would be tempted to put it in a feel good pop category, something along the lines of ‘Go West’ by the pet shop boys, infact the song wouldn’t be out of place on a beach boys album. Of both songs this is the one that was picked up by TV and Radio, MTV currently have it on heavy rotation. The video is a typical manics affair, it begins on a beach packed with sun bathers but soon the beach is swarmed with soldiers and paratroopers mid-battle. The b-sides on the single are fairly standard, coming with one remix and one new track ‘pedestal’, which is exactly what its supposed to be, a b-side at best.

Found that soul is a different story entirely, it’s gritty in both its lyrics and musical direction. It has the best b-sides of both singles. The ballad of the novactle could easily fit on previous album ‘The holy bible’, sung by Guitarist and Lyricist ‘Nicky Wire’ – it borrows from the sex pistols with its raw image and lack of production, they’ve left in the crumpled sound of Nicky turning the song sheet from which he is reading.

The packaging of the singles continues the whole cardboard box theme from previous singles, it’s not very friendly on the eyes as consisting of large chunks of text – without punctuation. Both singles are retailing in Dublin at £4.49 but both together  are £8.00, which is quiet reasonable considering that most manics fans will buy both singles rather than just one. Here’s hoping the new album will be as diverse and interesting as its first two singles.