Morrissey is, well, Morrissey, someone of his own rank, surely. I, for one, had never been a fan of The Smiths, moreover I had only heard of them a few years ago (no, folks, I do not live in a cave). And to an even lesser extent am I acquanted with Morrissey as a solo artist, but what is easy to remember and learn these days about Morrissey is, surely, his personality. His rants, well, define what he is perceived to be to an outsider to music. But, apart from making striking proclamations, mostly related to animal rights, vegetarianism and British monarchy (I have to admit, that I most probably agree with him on all of those topics, but that's not the point here), so, in fact, yes, right, he makes music. On 15th July 2014, Morrissey released his tenth album, a new solo record, titled, well, completely unsurprisingly, "World Peace Is None Of Your Business". It was released in July, notoriously, on Harvest Records. Well, things changed a bit since then, so that now Morrissey's musicians perform in "Fuck Harvest Records" T-shirts... So, forget, what I said about the label, anyway... I have to say, that I didn't expect much out of it, since I gave into the notion, that Morrissey's best was in The Smiths and now what he can offer us is only a bleak remainder of those wonderful times, to say the least. But, I don't know why, but I've decided it's worth to give "World Peace Is None Of Your Business" a chance, especially given the wide array of opinions in respect to it, and in respect to Morrissey's latest excentric behavior. As someone, who is and used to be an inevitable troll and an a radical person, I can relate to the man behind this album and not dismiss his efforts right away. Will Morrissey prove me right or will he prove his opponents, falsely friendly asking him to retire or to grow up, given that his worldview is by some classified as "teenage"? So, we will see. So, here is the album!
The album unashemedly opens with the title track – straightforward as always, Morrissey – "World Peace Is None Of Your Business". And, unsurprisingly, it was the first track both off this album that I'd heard and of Morrissey as a solo artist. And already here was I caught off guard – well, this sounds far more like something I listen to usually, hmm, weird samples, howling in the distance, intriguing percussion, well, is this really Morrissey, and not so much less known ambient or techno artist? Well, but here I am assured it's the man. Here comes the ridiculously triumphant music, with slow drums and stately guitars. Morrissey sings in what can be perceived to be an arrogant manner, making rather direct statements. "Oh, oh, you poor little fool, oh oh, you fool" – he exclaims and another verse comes. Then soon comes the rushed and anxious guitar solo. But, wait, it is not over yet- "Each time you vote, you support the process, each time you vote, you support the process" – he states a rather strange thing. And then comes the most triumphant part with wonderful guitar and war drums. The songs ends with some weird samples, just as it started. Well, my opinion, actually, is that, well, yes, it's straighforward, and rather unsophisticated, as if I would in all seriousness write such a song when I was 13 and was a profound antiglobalist. But, I think it's one of the best songs of 2014! It's striking and undoubtful. Completely attacks you, what's wrong with that? Not everyone can or should be kants, some have to be nietzsches.
The second track is titled "Neal Cassady Drops Dead". If you, just like me, had no idea, what is the person mentioned in the title, I can say that he was an American poet of the Beat generation. His friend and lover Allen Ginsberg is mentioned in the song too. Aggressive guitars and cool electronic drums. Bursts of riffs. Bubbles of samples and bursts of synth. A slow-motion guitar solo. Then it all goes acoustic. Not bad at all, even a bit Spanish, flamenco. Drums boiling somewhere underneath. Then a slow outro with some guitar sounds glistening and running around. Well, this part is a bit boring. Not on par with the start, that just blowed my mind at once. The very end is still cool though.
The third song is called "I'm Not A Man". Another sample-based start, hmm, I really did not expect that, some field recording? Hmm, nice. Suddenly, no, we are back, simplistic and sentimental instrumentation, and Morrissey speaking. 'I'm not a man, I'm something much bigger than a man' – he states with arogance in the third chorus, however that is somewhat on point. Fuzzy guitars, synth, well, they retreat again, to give a way to Morrissey. Rulling drums, deep bass, swelling synths. Tiny licks of gentle acoustic guitar. The lyrics maybe indeed are straightforward, but, wait, he makes me believe in his message or at least try to. Some nice synth and samples here, a fresh breeze. Just like the first song, it is triumphant and huge.
The fourth track is "Istanbul". Interesing guitars, oh, for one moment, I felt that The Smiths vibe! Nice synth in the background, only later does some Turkish elements come in. Feels nostalgic, the synth leads the way with guitars around, bittersweet feeling here, a cool riff, however, it feels, like the urge to give that Oriental feel fell a bit flat, drums and synth make it still good, sounds rather ecclectic however. The atmosphere is wonderful, nevertheless.
The fifth song is called "Earth Is The Loneliest Planet". Here, in comparison to to the song before, it all starts only with an acoustic guitar, but my fear, that this is going to be a bland take, soon is waved away by bursts of guitar, the drums give me even more hope. Smart synth."Time after time, you say- next time, next time..." – Morrissey laments, something that again reminds me of The Smiths... Wonderful synth. Spanish guitar, some exotic sounds, opposed to rock drums and a magnificent guitar solo, rather experimental, but the chorus is a bit too predictable, apart from it, it's more or less nice. Not nearly as bad as I initially expected. A sudden end. Nice, however.
The sixth song is "Staircase At The University". This reminds me of the second song. But the vibe is a different one. That typical Morrissey. This bittersweet take. "She threw herself down and her head split three ways" – he says triumphantically. Typical Morrissey. The music is rather enthusiastic. The lyrical content is, again, dark, and that contrast, since The Smiths, works more or less right. Basically, this is a very classical Morrissey song lyrically. Then a bit acoustic guitar, but there is always something modern besides. The end is even more happy, swooning synth go left, clacky percussion. The melody is impecable. Really, it is. But, again, the ecclectic nature of this album strikes me. The end is a bit too prolonged.
The seventh track is "The Bullfighter Dies", another homage to Morrissey's everlasting animal rights sentiment. To give that Spanish vibe, here go trumpets and accordion later on, the drums are cool nevertheless. The chorus is wonderful. A sweet glistening guitar in the background. The song's a very short one. The words are no surprise, after all. But the part "Gaga in Malaga, no mercy in Murcia, mental in Valencia..." sound ridiculous. If somewhere in this album I think it's worth to not be satisfied with the lyrics, it probably is this song. Musically it is rather good, but lyrically it fails to impress. At the time of writing this review I read an essay Morrissey had published on his site, expressing his utter delight at the news of a bullfighter gored in Mexico. Well, right on point.
The eight track is titled "Kiss Me A Lot". The start gives me a deja vu feeling after listening to some indie rock. A lot of feedback, brass. Everything you want. Synth in the chorus. The the chorus is full of trumpets, synth and guitar. Then goes the loud-quiet. A bit of a Spanish flamenco vibe again. The end again is triumphant and fresh. It may not be that witty, yet it's honest. Then quiet... Guitar, piano here. Perhaps the most lighthearted and joyful song on the album. Really, a good song. The only song where the long end does not sound excessive. Here you can even feel that Morrissey can be not hateful. At least, for a while...
The ninth track is called "Smiler With Knife". An acoustic piece with short bursts of tragic electric guitar and bass. "Sex and love are not the same" – Morrissey wisely points out. The end guitar solo, though is really good. Really points out the rather dark undertone but without the cheese of how it was put forward initially in this track.
The tenth track has another iconic title to offer, this time it's "Kick The Bride Down the Aisle". A cinematic piece. A slowly unfurling song. The chorus is a bit sleepy. Then things go a bit faster, nice guitar work. Again, it feel way too long. I almost forgot what was in the start. And there it goes again, and again.
Song number eleven is called "Mountjoy". Another acoustic take. Deep bass. A strange feeling. Nice post rock feeling even. No drums. An acoustic guitar juxtaposed to dark electronic sounds all around. The part near the end is soul-piercing. It's very dark. Frightening samples. The guitars are squashed for a while. Nice synth and samples. The end is extremely dark even, the atmosphere shifts a lottle bit. This song is about the Mounjoy prison in Dublin, Ireland. And the lyrics are the best on the whole record, I think.
The twelth and last track is called "Oboe Concerto", a somewhat strange name in context of this album. Awesome synths around. Really cool bass then. Then the guitars come in. There goes the mesmerising synth. The chorus reminds me of something heard though. Wonderful electronics here. A true oboe somewhere here too. Rattling drums with shinny synths. The end is a bit boring though. But the synth is just so wonderful. Dark undertone.
So, after all, this album is really not as bad as I had imagined, basing my fear on several reviews and articles I'd read beforehand. Yet it's not very coherent and does not qualify for a wonderful album. Some songs, like the title track, "Neal Cassady Drops Dead", "Mountjoy", a few others are very good. But others seem a bit way too ecclectic, drawn out, too long, too repetitive. However, I was genuinely pleased to hear some modern sounds, synth, samples, electronic influence. At least it wasn't all Spanish flamenco guitar and distorted electric guitar. The triumphant feeling in the title track, "I'm Not A Man" and "Staircase at the University" is something truly undeniable and not to be simply dismissed right away. I don't think that Morrissey is as bold as he shows himself in this album, but, well, even the album cover indicates boldness, the title, names of songs, it's radical and undoubtful. Sure, Morrissey can be different. But is it our business? Why can we think we are righteous enough to teach this man, what he should sing about? If he feels like this, bold and anxious, why not? For instance, Muse stated pretty much the same things if not even less sophisticated in songs like "Uprising" or "The Resistance", but they're on a major label, still... No one criticised them as harsh as Morrissey for their political songs. Musically, the album doesn't sound boring, But it seems that it is rather incoherent. Lyrically, the direction is evident, like it or not. All in all, Morrissey is back with new music and ready to tell this world how wrong it is. Come on, we lack such people these days, too many artists are boring, bleak, copies of copies of the past, empty and conformistic. They all are friendly, kind and universally appealing and therefore empty. But Morrissey may be straightforward and radical where it is and where it's really not supposed to take place, however, he is a true human being who does what he want and sings what he wants, so rare these days.
Morrissey:
https://www.facebook.com/Morrissey
http://true-to-you.net/
You can buy "World Peace Is None of Your Business", well, nowhere...
But you can listen to it on YouTube, like I did.
