Rue the day when Morrissey runs out of gripes. Throughout his 37-year career, he’s transformed torment and disdain into a memorable body of work with both the Smiths and as a solo artist.
The 55-year-old singer has always approached romance and anything else that gets in his craw with stark reality. This time, on his 10th album World Peace is None of Your Business, he’s decided to exorcise more of his political demons.
The title track goes after irresponsible world leaders and the actual people that vote them into power. He takes on bullfighting, human cruelty and bad relationships. And it’s more than the clever lyrics that make this collection work. It’s also the musicality. The serious themes are nicely contrasted with an ironically up-tempo flavour. There’s bounciness to these tunes, including some perfectly placed flourishes from flamenco guitar.
As for the rest of the album, Morrissey attacks the modern idea of masculinity while showing his most vulnerable qualities on I’m Not a Man and goes slightly romantic on Kiss Me a Lot. And Kick the Bride Down the Aisle sounds like something left off the Kill Bill soundtrack, right down to the theme.
Morrissey clearly shows he has not shed any of his trademark wit or dissension, and while not the best album he’s ever recorded — it’s a pretty strong collection.
