Morrissey, Low in High School (2017) A Review

Morrissey, Low in High School (2017) A Review

By: Erreh Svaia

Transcendental Music

I have always wished for a Glenn Danzig album full of Morrissey covers, it seems very unlikely that such a thing might happen anytime soon, Danzig is a great singer and composer, but I'm sure he lacks the broad artistic vision required for such a feat, although he covered David Bowie and T. Rex once; a song like Something is Squeezing My Skull might have sounded great in Glenn's voice, and My Love, I'd Do Anything for You, the opener of Mozz's newest Low in High School, thanks to its solid martial beat and slashing guitars might prove another great option for Glenn to cover.

Low in High School is Morrissey comeback to the studios, new and at times exciting music from this once The Smith leaders, and despite My Love…leanings towards the epic, it is not the sort of gatecrasher we might be expecting, Who Will Protect Us from the Police? Is a stronger tune, featuring robust synths and a menacing beat, a powerful reminder not only of Morrissey´s skills as songwriters, but also of his attempts at experimenting with new sounds within pop context, here letting some dissonant sound take over the piece, all this while laying down a definitely satisfying vocal line, unfortunately here, the piece is quickly followed by another mellow tune named All the Young People Must Fall in Love, a song that sounds almost unfinished and lacking the highly polished craftsmanship most commonly associated with Mozz.

What can be said about When You Open Your Legs? Too explicit and too much in the tradition of dark crooners like Jacques Brel or Scott Walker, a very interesting piece with odd arrangements but not strong enough to get attention, again, Morrissey´s own charisma seems to be carrying the weight as songs lack enough punch, arrangements are not robust enough and the songs simply fail to impress and connect.

Spent the Day in Bed, the first song known from this album sounds almost like a The Stranglers left over, and I guess The Stranglers left overs ae great, but this one is not enough, again a good song and lame production ends up delivering mediocre results, it reminde me a bit of the time when Michael Gove recomended "not to listen to the experts", as Morrissey hurries his loved ones to better stay in bed rather than listening or reading the news..., and if that wasn’t enough (consider that Morrissey was on the side of the Brexiters), Israel is another provocative piece, more provocative by its title and its lyrics than by the song as a whole, as musically it lacks cohesion and ends up a bit exasperating.

The good news is that there are a couple of great songs, like I Wish You Lonely, that clearly recalls classic Morrissey, a key piece to give some hope to Morrissey longtime fans, also there is the remarkable Jacky´s Only Happy when She´s Up on the Stage, one of those classic nostalgia soaked histories Morrissey likes to deliver, this time as a sort of mantra, as a sort of nursery rhyme, who knows, Morrissey knowing well when he has a winning line and playing it to the infinitum.

Low in High School is a great title for a record, unfortunately, for us die hard Morrissey fans, the whole record doesn’t live up to the expectations, hardly a great Morrissey record and just about a few remarkable songs, in a moment that seemed perfect for Mozz to deliver his view on a world perceived nowadays as miserable, Mozz loses his chance to embrace it, barely touching the issue on the ascending Home is Question Mark, Yes, Mozz might be too worried by the future of the United Kingdom, but this time he wasn’t smart enough to take advantage of it, he kept the misery for himself this time.