ARTIST: Morrissey
TITLE: Years of Refusal
WEB DEBUT: Jan. 4, 2009
RELEASE DATE: Feb. 13, 2009
ONE-LISTEN VERDICT: Remember When I Was Cruel, the “back to his roots” rock album Elvis Costello put out a few years ago? Refusal sounds a lot like that, though of course Morrissey’s roots are much gentler. The guitars are loud; the drums are pretty close to the red; the bass is distorted; there aren’t a lot of filigrees, though the ones that are there are appreciated. Among the music cognoscenti, this isn’t going to get a lot of attention probably, given its proximity to the shrill, blunt blarefest Pitchfork gave a 9.6 to this morning, but it deserves some. It sounds louder to me than the last Morrissey album (the ostensible rock one), but more than anything else, it sounds tight. The melodies are clear and direct, the songs get in and get out (5 of the 11 tracks are under 3 minutes), and Morrissey sings his ass off. The horns, children, strings, and theremin (?) work within the songs rather than outside them. When he finally breaks off for a ballad in the second half (”It’s Not Your Birthday Anymore”), it sounds earned rather than boilerplate, and the track’s mix of ’80s synths, Marr-ish guitar, and gong gives way to a fair rager of a rock chorus. No idea if this will hold up a few years down the line (I listened to When I Was Cruel incessantly at the time, but have little interest now), but at the moment, it’s a winner.
THE BEST TRACK: I’m a sucker for a leadoff track, and “Something Is Squeezing My Skull” doesn’t disappoint. The arrangement manages to sound like the Smiths but aggressive, the way Moz’s jumps to the final word of the title in the chorus gives me goosebumps, and the pharmaceutical list and refusal chant of the middle 8 barrels intro a practically …Trail of Dead-like coda. Morrissey: He rocked my socks off.
It’s so fucking good. Looking forward to this and the new Thursday.
Can’t wait to fire up the torrent machinez when I get home. Don’t worry, Morrissey: I also pay for your records! (And your concert tickets, and the t-shirts with your graven image on them.) I just want to listen now now now.
You’ve got me excited. I was gutted when I realized I missed out on a chance to see Moz play the (relatively small) Variety Playhouse in Atlanta.
And we will probably find very few worthy competitors for best album cover of 2009.
I’m confused: is it a requirement to make derisive, never-elaborated comments about Animal Collective in order to write for this site?
Seriously, the last couple of months of AC bashing seems less ‘this ain’t my bag’ and more ‘deliberately against the grain’. Someone please make a decent point other than “that album cover sure is weird” or “their fans sure can get out of hand sometimes”, or at least TRY — TRY! — to take the “this isn’t for me, but maybe it’s special to someone else” high road.
@Richard Dipper: if you want to point out an instance where i actually comment on the music, and not the insane behavior of the band’s fans, feel free to point me to one.
also, the word ‘bashing’ is a bit strong, no? and yet people do tend to use it when they feel like their taste is being slighted. an interesting phenomenon, that. sort of like in political coverage! or sports coverage that isn’t on a home team’s network. (also, it makes me pretty sure that animal collective is also going to be this year’s vampire weekend as far as “any unglowing statement seen as a dis” craziness goes, sigh)
@Maura Johnston: i *specifically*, i should add.
@Maura Johnston: Well, as an avid reader of this site, I can tell you that I wasn’t referring to you ’specifically’. I think that, from a writing standard, adding a poorly-elaborated jab at a much-discussed record in a post that is COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT in reference to the much-discussed record (and, by the way, Years of Refusal has been AND will be getting tons of press when it comes out. It’s January 5th, people. There’s lots of records coming out that AREN’T Animal Collective, and I think that the non-insane part of the population that enjoys music will recognize that over the year) is lazy and cheap.
I’m not a defender of AC — or, for that matter, an avid fan. I just think that the shot taken in the above post, from a writing standpoint, was ineffective. I’d like to see a reasonable discussion of MPP (which I haven’t even heard yet, mind you) instead of a hyperlinked snark-quote that can’t even sustain a full sentence. That’s not good writing.
@Maura Johnston: Also, since this is the only notable web publication that I read that’s been giving negative press to Animal Collective at the time, I highly doubt they’ll be attaining the ‘irrational hate/love fight’ Vampire Weekend status anytime soon.
Back to the topic at hand, Mike nails everything that’s right about this Moz album. Especially the bit about the way he sings the chorus of “Something is Squeezing My Skull”…I’ve never heard anything like it.
It’s up there with Vauxhall and I and Your Arsenal in my personal solo Moz canon.
I thought the last Moz album was about as rockin’ as he gets, but now I’m intrigued to check this one out ASAP.
@Richard Dipper: that’s fair. the leak happened while i was on vacation, hence no leak of the week post. plus, honestly, i want to be able to actually hear the *record* when i first listen to it, and not all the fanboy spooging. you know? mike heard it and wasn’t a fan, and i suspect his ‘meh’ aside was in part because we’ve been getting bombarded with huzzahs for the damn thing all day. (it’s only january 5, everyone! there’s a lot of year left! radiohead could still put out another record, and so could the arcade fire — or they could put out an album TOGETHER, omg!)
as far as the second point, i see some backlash brewing here or there, but mostly i see people being all ‘if you don’t like this album you are a terrorist and out of the brodom’ if others even so much as shrug. clearly i need to get off the internet!
So how come Morrissey’s only touring the Southeast U.S this tour? My sister and her BF got tickets for his show in Durham NC! I was all like pshaww…whatever, I’ll see him when he swings back by Chicago, but nope…no show? Arghh he’s such a regionalist.
I missed his last show at the Aragon, and now he’s punishing me.
Back on topic this album sounds like it’ll be very interesting.
RE: the Animal Collective debate, I feel as though I’ve been living under a rock or something. I’ll never understand their (seemingly) sudden importance/relevance. To be fair, I do live in a vacuum, it’s a nice one though- a Dyson.
it’s nice (and surprising!) to see …trail of dead used as a positive reference point
I listened to When I Was Cruel incessantly at the time, but have little interest now.
This perfectly describes my relationship with When I Was Cruel. But if I love this album 1/2 as much as I loved When I Was Cruel, a good bet since I love Morrissey roughly twice as much as I love Elvis Costello, I will be very, very happy on Feb. 13th.
Looking forward to this…not digging the art though, nope.
Sorry for the near-total digression, but am I the only one who thought Momofuku was the album When I Was Cruel desperately wanted to be? WIWC just tried way too hard.
@Maura Johnston: Let’s complicate the haterism argument a bit: I detest Morrissey and everything he stands for.
@Maura Johnston: radiohead could still put out another record, and so could the arcade fire — or they could put out an album TOGETHER, omg!
If this actually happened, I would just throw in the towel, revert to being 16 permanently, and enjoy my cocoon in my parents’ house as I wept at the joy of PURE FEELING. And an unlimited supply of Hot Pockets.
I think the real news here, though, is that MIKE is repping a MORRISSEY album. I must hear this pronto. (Was his last one the one with the tommy gun on the cover? I remember liking that.)
@dabug:
No, the tommy gun one was two albums ago. That one rocked pretty hard, too, and was also produced by Jerry Finn (RIP).
@tigerpop: I thought Momofuku was just okay, but I actively hate When I Was Cruel, for its shitty overproduction and wordy, meaningless songs. The Delivery Man is the latter-day Costello disc du jour for me.
I’ve got tickets to see Morrissey play in his home town Manchester, on his 50th birthday!
I am also going to see Animal Collective next Monday.
hope thats OK
@Mike Barthel: I like both AC and Morrissey, but I know what you are talking about when you absolutely hate a band and can’t figure out why anybody would ever like them. My list is immense, and I probably shouldn’t even say who my #1 is because it will hurt someone’s feelings, but trust me, I understand. Actually, someone mentioned Trail of Dead here and they’ve gotta be pretty high on my list, along with Kings of Leon.
Is he using Herb Alpert’s “Whipped Cream” font on that album cover?
@Lucas Jensen: Yeah, what is it about Kings Of Leon? I seriously only hear Journey when I hear that guy sing. Admittedly, I liked a couple songs of one on their albums, but the new one is confusing.
Morrissey may not be a Yes man, but Shirley he’s the Owner of a Lonely Heart.
Talk about things coming full circle, though: Delaney Bramlett passed away just this past December 27. In 1979 his old lady Bonnie famously socked Elvis Costello in a Columbus, Ohio hotel bar in the nose.
[Ed. - That last sentence is very poorly constructed. Oh wait, there aren't editors for blog post comments. Hell, the posts themselves are barely edited before going up.]
Back to my point - and I do have one: post-punch, “MOMOFUKU” was the first utterance heard from the surprised and injured Costello.
Haha, I was really just rehashing a discussion elsewhere with that AC dig. But I will concede, on the basis of the reaction here, that the overall point was probably mistaken; people do seem very interested in the new Morrissey album. And I’m glad! But trust me, writing this a few hours ago, it felt like there was nothing else to talk about but Animal Collective. If it makes you feel any better, I was just trying to make Morrissey fans feel superior!
Why do I hate AC? I’ve gotten into it elsewhere, and yeah, like Maura said, there hasn’t really been a proper platform to air any writer’s grievances at length. I just really, really don’t like them, to the point that I don’t even really understand why other people like them. I actually spent about an hour today talking to a former AC-hata who was trying to talk me into liking the new album, and I gave it an honest, serious try, and it made me want to stab knitting needles in my eyes. The Morrissey album was a serious breath of fresh air in comparison.