When the book ‘Autobiography’ hit the bookstores last October, Morrissey fans everywhere sighed in relief, as this meant that another Morrissey hiatus was over. At this point we’d waited 4 ½ years for anything to be released, and gained an incredibly personal look in to Morrissey’s life. I personally feel like I was a part of some of his conversations. Now it’s been 5 long years since ‘Years of Refusal’ and we’ve just had the closure of a bogus Twitter account somebody opened on his behalf, and now we have his 10th studio album, and my it’s a good one.
The album kicks off with ‘World Peace Is None of Your Business’, the albums title track that was also Morrissey’s come back single, with Morrissey doing what he does best, ridiculing the politics of the country, reminded us of what’s expected of us; “work hard and sweetly pay your taxes”. This was when we discovered Morrissey would be releasing 3 spoken word videos for the first 3 singles – ‘World Peace Is None Of Your Business’ features Morrissey playing a piano, before being accompanied by Nancy Sinatra. Second single ‘Istanbul’ seems quite a chilled song, and musically is fantastic. The lyrics are quite political, and Morrissey seems to have adopted some sort of rhyming sequence at the end of the lines. There’s no doubt about it that this track will be sensational live, purely due to the bass and drums. One of the best things about the track is the spoken word video that accompanied it before it’s release, in which we see Morrissey, whom we assume to never have fun, and spend his time reading poetry, watering plants and writing strongly worded letters, sipping whisky. Nicely done Morrissey, nicely done. Morrissey’s third single ‘Earth Is The Loneliest Planet’, also first introduced to us as a spoken word video, features Morrissey and Pamela Anderson observing a sunset from what is said to be the roof of the Capitol Tower in LA. The video gave the song a serious feel, but now it’s got music behind it, it doesn’t seem to be quite intense.
‘I’m Not A Man’ appears to be the next ‘Meat Is Murder’, though isn’t quite as intense. Once it eventually begins, after a combination of silence and futuristic sounding noises, it does start nicely with what sounds like harps playing in the background, though it does end with what sounds like tortured and squealing animals (I never thought I’d end a Morrissey song prematurely until I reached the end of this one). The track is another insight in to Morrissey’s personal viewpoints on vegetarianism and animal slaughter, with him stating that he’s not a man because he would never destroy the planet he’s on, eat an animal, or “wolf down T-Bone steak”, which he then goes on to link to “cancer of the prostate” – I’m sure all men out there are glad Morrissey isn’t there Doctor!
‘Kick The Bride Down The Aisle’ is Morrissey at his best, as he describes malicious women who use males so they can “laze and grace” for the rest of their days. Although it doesn’t particularly portray females in a very nice manner, it’s incredibly comical, which makes me forgive him instantly. “Look at that cow, in that field, it knows more than your bride does now” for example shows us in one line that Morrissey has not lost his wittiness. So in the world of Morrissey, women just want slaves and marriage is miserable! If Morrissey said it then it must be true…
As well as conveying his dislike for marriage to us, ‘Oboe Concerto’ is inclusive of metaphors for a horrible life; “song I don’t like and it’s stuck in my head” and “rhythm of life goes round and round” being two prime examples. ‘Oboe Concerto’ actually concludes the album in true Morrissey dreary, but not depression, fashion.
‘Kiss Me A Lot’ is a great track, where Morrissey sounds like he’s having fun, and he’s truly back in the swing of things; “kiss me all over the place”. It’s upbeat, catchy, and would make a great opening tack on tour – the instrumentals towards the end are perfect for a few Morrissey moves, perhaps with gladioli. It’s quite a shock of a song to come from Morrissey due to the celibate imagine he seems to have attached to him. ‘Staircase At The University’ seems to be another fun track, though with darker lyrics, as it appears to tell the story of a student who feels so much pressure from her parents and boyfriend about achieving the best grades (“if you don’t get 3 A’s, her sweet Daddy said, you’re no child of mine and as far as I’m concerned you’re dead”), she throws herself down a University staircase, “and her head split 3 ways”. The lyrics hit the nail on the head for students during exam periods today, as Morrissey describes not seeing the girls “smile in a while” as though out March, April and May, “she crammed night and day”. It’s such a catchy tune that’s it’s almost a shame it’s about such a depressing issue. It’s even got a touch of R.E.M ‘It’s The End Of The World As We Know It’ as Morrissey quickens his lyrical pace with “cramming, slam in, pack ‘em in, ramming choc-a-bloc books power study, polish up” towards the end.
‘Neal Cassidy Drops Dead’ is a strong track that begins with prominent and intense guitar, whilst Morrissey makes reference to poet and writer Neal Cassady dropping dead and poet “Allan Ginsberg’s tears” shampooing his beard, before he quickens his lyrical pace once again to covey his dislike for children; “everyone has babies, babies full of rabies, rabies full of scabies” – it’s no shock to us that Morrissey dislikes children as when interviewed after he appeared on the ‘Years Of Refusal’ artwork holding a baby in not a very loving many, he told interviewers that he borrowed “it” [the child] from a friend. The guitar at the end of the track is fantastic.
Perhaps the most intense track on the album is ‘Smiler With A Knife’, which features Morrissey’s voice accompanied by a light and slowly strummed guitar, as he informs us that he is “sick to death with life”.
‘The Bullfighter Dies’ is another cheery upbeat song about a dire issue, this time being bullfighting. The track begins with trumpets, and is inclusive of Spanish sounding music, which fits perfectly with the theme of the track. “Gaga in Malaga”, “No mercy in Versailles” and “Mental in Valencia” are all such witty lyrics, this track is one of the musically, vocally and lyrically best on the album – it’s so pleasing to see Morrissey at his best once again. It does make me wonder why those 3 places in particular out of all the Bullfighting towns he could’ve chosen, maybe they’re the places he’s been hiding, or possibly protesting, during his 5 year album hiatus?!
Morrissey’s humour is portrayed once again wonderfully in ‘Mountjoy’. I can’t help but think “I was sent here by a three foot half-wit in a wig. I took his insults on the chin and never did I flinch” is reference to Morrissey’s experiences of a Court Room, which we read about so eagerly in ‘Autobiography’ last year. The track begins with the sounds of an acoustic guitar and features chord progression before ending with the lyric “we all lose, rich or poor, we all lose” and the sounds of silence approaching. It has somewhat of a magical essence to it.
Morrissey has come back with an absolute bang and the album is everything fans have been waiting for and more. There’s now only one thing Morrissey could do to please his fans, and that’s a UK tour, as he hasn’t toured in the UK since a one off homecoming show in Manchester in July 2012. Go on Moz, ‘Come Back To Camden’.
Morrissey’s first spoken word video for ‘World Peace Is None Of Your Business’:
http://youtu.be/WUKRVnTCXRg
By Laura Dean – @modestlaura
