Monday 25th February 2013

rating: 3

They were together for only five years and made just four traditional albums, but Steven Patrick Morrissey & Johnny Marr- the innovative heavyweights that comprised the creative half ofbecame arguably the greatest songwriting duo sinceand. Marr has spent the past two decades trying to escape the colossal shadow thatcast over the post-punk musical landscape, a landscape that his band had no small part in helping create and define. The desire to escape this shadow prompted Marr to spend the best part of the last 25 years infusing the music of others with talents that have since earned him innumerable plaudits- not least recently being crowneds God-like Genius- from collaborating with his equals (Bryan Ferry, Bernard Sumner, The Pretenders) and contributing support to his juniors (Washington'sand Wakefield's). Only now, so long after the demise of, has Marr decided to put his name, and his name alone, to an album. Of course the stakes are high; when you have a back catalogue as immense and impressive as his then expectations shift towards the stratospheric. Ifis Marrs mission to reinvigorate guitar-driven indie-pop by annexing the sounds of his sprawling musical past then it is in many ways a success. It feels like a raucous expedition through the sonic side-streets of his formative years, from the Smithsian jangle of, the synth-infused atmospheric parade of, through to-style garage-rock etchings scratched throughis a fantastic opener which, save for one cringe-inducing "sets the mood for the album: confident, energetic, and upbeat. The intro recallsswhilst the remainder of the track is reminiscent of Manchester bandre-imagined for the twenty-first century. The title track is another scorcher, melding synth-pop with Marr's pulsating angular guitar riffs. Its not all good news though and, while criticism aimed at a man believed to be in possession of semi-divine powers might be tantamount to blasphemy,remains a far from perfect record. Its shortcomings are illustrative of the reasons why Marr shied away from putting his name to a solo record for so long- lyrically things are mostly lukewarm and unexceptional (' "the underground is overground/the overground will pull you down" ands "you're in for love/ and you will fight love being notably underwhelming). Also, although he has a decent enough voice, it's far from constantly engaging or outstanding. These lyrical and verbal shortcomings make it difficult for Marr to cohesively channel the thoughts and ideas he has: musings on societys loss of identity, and the rampant growth of commercialism. Not unexpectedly, the driving force behindis the guitar work- his ability to craft a tune and imbue it with fantastic chord progressions and unforgettable riffs. Like his hair and his youthful looks, his wizardry and mastery with the guitar remain intact. Perhaps he entered into some kind of Faustian pact with the devil? If so then the devil was either wise or cruel, since he was not gifted with the voice or the lyrical ingenuity that a certain other Smith was granted. Morrissey & Marr remain two divergent halves of the perfect rock star, segregated into separate shells. And that's why we adore each of them more when they are not working alone.1. The Right Thing Right 6. The Messenger 4. Upstarts 11. New Town Velocity http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2W8aVDxeBY1. The Right Thing Right 2. I Want The Heartbeat 3. European Me 4. Upstarts 5. Lockdown 6. The Messenger 7. Generate! Generate! 8. Say Demesne 9. Sun & Moon 10. The Crack Up 11. New Town Velocity 12. Word Starts Attack