Morrissey Years Of Refusal review
Ambiguity has always rested at the heart of Morrissey’s music and persona. Years of Refusal, the ninth Morrissey solo album proper, doesn’t stray too far from type.
Within the twist of a phrase he can be the loved or the loveless, the persecuted or deified, self-loathing and narcissistic in equal measure. Which are we to believe is the true Morrissey? Of course, he is never that simple, we are never that simple. The outpourings of this complex psyche set to music have always been captivating and the highs of Years Of Refusal are as alluring as anything he has written; that there are also lows is testament to Morrissey’s own brand of mercurial genius.
Recorded quickly and mostly live with You Are The Quarry’s late Jerry Finn at the helm, there is a raw and grinding guitar edge to most of these songs. When this works, as it does in the opener Something Is Squeezing My Skull, it’s gutsy and emphatic. Morrissey’s vocal is fantastic, bearing the “Here I am” quality reminiscent of the opener of Your Arsenal. The drug references are surprising and original, guitars punky and the drums thunderous throughout.
Indeed, Matt Walker’s excellent drumming throbs throughout the album, be it the funereal march of Mama Lay Softly On the Riverbed or the rolling flamenco rhythm of When Last I Spoke To Carol; the best Morrissey drummer since Viva Hate and Kill Uncle’s Andrew Paresi, capable of variation and subtlety and enough to make Mike Joyce sob quietly into his handkerchief. These traits are sadly missing from the guitars as a whole. The power chords and samey chord sequences grate at times and save for a few touches, such as the acoustic arpeggios on the beautiful single Paris, and the (five seconds of) Jeff Beck widdling of Black Cloud, one longs to hear more guitar invention. At its worse, on All You Need is Me, it’s merely American rock by numbers. The inclusion of the two mediocre songs already available on last years Greatest Hits doesn’t help the album and new material would’ve been welcome here; the B-sides from last year, Children in Pieces and My Dearest Love would’ve nestled perfectly in the spaces.
It’s Not Your Birthday Anymore is by far the stand out track. Arguably, it surpasses anything throughout the comeback period since Quarry. The synth washes and drum machine sound fresh, a relief from the bland rock; the singing is initially gentle and restrained, echoes of Vauxhall and I, before exploding into notes higher and more wrought than Morrissey has dared previously venture. “All the gifts that they gave can’t compare in any way / To the love I am now giving to you/Right here, right now on the floor” Morrissey seductively sings and dark obsession and the abuse of power has never sounded so joyous. It segues into the world weary beauty of You Were Good In Your Time. A fabulous, string soaked ballad with eerie dialogue creating the mood of pathos that the song explores. The arrangement, a break from the hard rocking, is welcome and restrained.
After such songs of grandiose beauty, the closing couplet are unremarkable; Sorry Doesn’t Help is lyrically and melodically uninspiring. The legal references; “Like a QC full of fake humility” were already tired within Quarry let alone here. Although the song itself is unremarkable, the “wig out” at the end of I’m Ok By Myself is enjoyable, Morrissey’s distorted falsetto sounding like Muse’s Matt Bellamy, if that is a good or bad thing.
Years of Refusal is an inconsistent yet often compelling album. It manages to be both down with the kids and also deliver thrills for the long-term fans. It is best when the music varies from type: When Last I spoke To Carol’s flamenco trumpet backed lament for example sounding unlike any previous Morrissey song. Lyrically he has become less florid, less infatuated with nostalgia and the minutiae of the human heart, in favour of more direct imagery. Clearly, this simpler lyrical approach, which has alienated a section of his loyal fanbase, is all about the sound of the band as a whole and not merely as Morrissey’s platform, a sentiment he echoed around the release of Your Arsenal. Both Morrissey and band have produced a resilient effort that is as engaging and relevant as ever.
