Morrissey's Third Comeback

Morrissey proves he is more relevant than he's been since the Bona Drag era with his newest album, Ringleader of the Tormentors. "Older" and "wiser" now both apply to him in his 3rd comeback as a solo artist. He is truly the patron saint of Indy Pop! Ben Gibbard should be shaking in his boots because of how bad he sucks - the Moz will send him to Indy Hell!

So what was the first comeback? Viva Hate of course. Johnny Marr was brilliant but only with the magic of Steven Patrick, after that it was Electronic's first album (catchy); The The (interesting); and then a bunch of horrible music after that. But Morrissey kept fighting it out with himself and a never ending series of hooligans. His second comeback was We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful - a rockabilly-esque punch to the face of MTV's after midnight lineup.

Sure he had flashes of talent and desperation worthy of 99 cent downloads - his album just before this one (You Are the Quarry) wasn't bad, and reminded everyone that he wasn't going anywhere, yet it now seems like just a prelude.

Ringleader has its low points, namely "I Just Want to See the Boy Happy" and "To Me You Are a Work of Art." Both good songs, but not great. On the other hand, the stand out songs are "In The Future When All's Well," which begs to be the next single with an octave-busting, r-rolling, memorable feel and relevant lyrics full of mature angst ("I will lie down and be counted in the future when all's well ... please stand up an defend me in the future when all's well; confront what you are afraid of in the future when all's well; everyday I play a sad game called 'In The Future When All's Well'"); and Life Is A Pigsty - classic self-pitying Morrissey at his best, with a sorrow-filled thunderstorm to match - the Moz uses his deepest droning voice and announces "it's the same old S.O.S. but brand new broken fortunes; I'm the same underneath; but this you ... you surely knew ... life is a pigsty."

Of course I also love the swipe at America's imperialist foreign policy in the opening track "I Will See You In Far Off Places" - "If your god bestows protection upon you, and if the U.S.A. doesn't bomb you, I believe I will see you somewhere safe ..." He uses some sort of children's chorus (which he uses elsewhere as well) in the irreverant "The Father Who Must Be Killed" which is a playfully evil track. And of course there is the first single "You Have Killed Me" which has a pleasant chorus delivering the unpleasant message that Morrissey is Dead and indeed you have killed him. The video for this number pounds the final nail in the coffin of washed-up, mid-life sad songs - Morrissey doesn't make them.