Music reviews

There are few sadder things in life than witnessing the decay of one’s idols Discuss this article

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Morrissey

2/5
Swords
There are few sadder things in life than witnessing the decay of one’s idols, and in the case of someone once as original and challenging as Morrissey, it’s particularly hard to believe that the end is nigh. With the release of this sorry collection, it really does seem as though the rest may as well be silence.

Since Swords is a collection of B-sides, it’s unlikely that anyone other than a Morrissey obsessive will bother with its purchase. So why review it? Well, you see, Morrissey was always one of those rare recording artists whose castoffs were invariably as good as his prime cuts. From the Smith’s Hatful of Hollow right through to World of Morrissey, the man they loved to call miserable delivered hilarious audio parcels from ‘the arse of the world’. His name still conjoured up deadly deeds; oh, that it had such power now.

The trouble with Swords, a compilation assembled from releases over the last five years, is that the ingenuity is simply gone. In its place is an overly long collection of earnest tracks that rock too hard, grinding away the subtlety, bashing you over the head in a way that makes the phrase ‘Morrissey by numbers’ seem generous.

Of course there are exceptions. ‘Don’t Make Fun of Daddy’s Voice’ is a typically perverse piece that lurches but never labours, and ‘Friday Mourning’ will grab you by the ears and shake you to your senses, though there was a time when Mozz would do that twice before breakfast as a matter of course. Both are from the You Are the Quarry sessions, his last career peak. The remainder of the album – and as a passionate fan, this sincerely hurts to write – is genuinely boring, droning on in the background, demanding to be switched off.

Much has been said about Morrissey’s dependence on his long-term, workaday backing group and, while it’s true that they are now exploring new ways to re-recycle chords that have already been recycled, at some point the wordsmith himself has to take the blame. But the wit is gone, and the interviews he gives, berating the rest of the pop world for being crashingly dull, hint at a sorrowful level of delusion. While you might bet on someone of Morrissey’s inspirational talents making a late-stage Dylan-esque return to form, Swords suggests that the light we were promised would never go out just has.
Jon Wilks
In stores now

Air

3/5
Love 2
The sharply dressed Parisian duo has designed another platter of couture pop, moon-age daydreams and idylls. The new line from the house of Air sports funkier and fuzzier bass lines to spice up its immaculate brand of amuse-oreilles made of whistles, chimes, baby grands and Moog.

Recording live as a full band affords a fresh breeziness to the Technicolor TV cop themes and cinematic spy scores. These lush truffles centred on heaven and jungles carry a hard-to-place delectability, an auditory umami. In ‘So Light is her Footfall,’ with his adorably accented doll voice, Jean-Benoît Dunckel sighs either ‘she’s a ninja’ or ‘she’s an angel’. As testament to Air’s impish and empyreal ways, both work.
Brent DiCrescenzo
In stores now

Ghostface Killah

3/5
Ghostdini: Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City
Praise for Ghostface Killah most often centres on his vivid, stream-of-consciousness crime narratives. Yet his status as the Wu-Tang Clan’s most enduring alumnus is probably more attributable to his love songs, often equally rich in their attention to obscure detail. From his countless cameos on R&B remixes (Beyoncé’s ‘Summertime’, Mary J Blige’s ‘Your Child’) to his own occasional radio hits (2006’s Ne-Yo-aided ‘Back Like That’), Tony Starks has long been hip-hop’s most unlikely Prince Charming.

Ghostdini: Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City squarely focuses on this aspect of the rapper’s oeuvre. Whereas a typical Ghostface album might include one or two songs as charming as ‘Baby’, an ode to a pregnant partner that co-stars crooner Raheem De Vaughn, Ghostdini revolves around such collaborations: John Legend, Lloyd and Estelle are among the supporting cast. But, while Ghostface might be rapping to the ladies on Wizard of Poetry, he’s not always rapping for them. ‘Stapleton Sex’ is a cartoonishly crass shopping list of carnal demands; ‘Guest House’ is a typical Ghostface whodunit, except it’s a woman, not money, that’s stolen (fellow rap lover-boy Fabolous plays the ‘cable guy’ she’s sneaking around with). These tracks aren’t off-message; they just represent different shades of Ghost’s risqué approach to what he has called his ‘R&B album’. Ultimately, Ghostdini is unique among efforts by rappers to reach into such territory: it’s in no way soft.
Jesse Serwer
In stores now