record review: Morrissey - Years of Refusal (repost, sans mp3)

I realize that this review is a bit behind the times, as the album dropped four months ago. Regardless, I actually have time to listen to music now (which makes me very happy) and for this reason, I’m reviewing albums that I’ve been meaning to post about for ages.

If you’re a Moz fan, you probably already own this album, but just in case you don’t, let me tell you why you need to listen to this album immediately.

Steven Patrick Morrissey isn’t like communism; he is good both in theory and in practice. He fronted The Smiths for five glorious years, producing four of the greatest albums of our time. He then went on to work on his own solo career, and Years of Refusal is his ninth studio album since 1988. He has deemed the album his “strongest work to date”, which is accurate on many levels. First, this album is loud. Really loud. Long gone is the Morrissey singing sweet reminisces on Strangeways Here We Come (The Smith’s final release).

The album’s title is actually quite perfect, as the songs are nothing less than a culmination of Moz’s frustrations with the world, and his refusal to acquiesce to its ridiculous demands. On “That’s How People Grow Up”, he declares: I was wasting my time/Trying to fall in love/Disappointment came to me and/Booted me and bruised and hurt me” and follows that sentiment with “So yes there are things worse in life than/Never being someone's sweetie”. Morrissey has always remained ambiguous about his sexuality (I personally consider him as a transcendent being who needent define himself by our baser human instincts), but he’s never been as forward about it as he is here.

This album begins with “Something is Squeezing my Skull”, a song that treads first into punk and then metal guitar territory but is strangely, completely, Morrissey. Years of Refusal combines sharp lyricism with powerful vocals and soaring music, especially through the incorporation of trumpets and keyboards. The drums establish a cadence that would be at home in any marching band: deliberate, consistent and ambitious.

The melodic sparkle of the single “I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris” contrasts beautifully with the blatant egotism found in “All You Need is Me” and the melancholy rendition of “It’s Not Your Birthday Anymore”. Essentially, Morrissey is saying that he is impenetrable yet vulnerable; independent but brokenhearted; depressed yet fabulous. He ends the album with the anthem “I’m OK By Myself”, just to remind us how much of a paradox he is. Years of Refusal is one of the most transparently straightforward albums of our time, and yet, we will never truly know Morrissey. He will remain a mysterious entity, constantly trying to explain himself to the world, but not really. I think he revels in the ambiguity and, to be completely honest, that’s half of his music’s appeal.

4.5/5