Review Summary: Fever dreams of a talented mind
Johnny Marr is a significant figure in rock music, even though, unfortunately, not one of the most high-profile. Over the course of his long and varied career, he remained in the shadows of other musicians (first and foremost, vocalists) – until he finally released his first true solo album in 2013 (though, it was preceded by
Boomslang, which he recorded together with The Healers in 2003). Then two more great LPs followed. And recently, having teased his new album with a series of EPs, the guitarist released a collection of 16 fresh songs.
One of the reasons for Marr’s “in-the-shadows” standing is his unique approach to guitar playing. Unlike many of his established colleagues, he never sticks out to eclipse his teammates. At the same time, his fretwork cannot be called indistinct or subtle. His style is more about penetrating the musical depths of a song, when the guitar is noticeable yet craftily merges with the other instruments and vocals. Only when you listen carefully, trying to mentally disassemble a track, do you truly appreciate his intricate and artful work. And whenever the guitarist takes over during the solo sections or lays down memorable riffs, his high level of craftsmanship becomes unmistakably evident.
Johnny applies this exact same approach to his vocals. They cannot be called powerful or flashy, feeling somewhat like a step back from his main specialty (unsurprisingly). However, he aptly combines his singing and instrumentation so that neither interferes with the other, instead fitting together perfectly into a cohesive sonic tapestry.
And this dynamic is once again in full swing on his new album, where the musician decided to shift toward a more electronic direction.
Without a doubt, the record can be called a success. Quite often, double LPs containing this much material suffer from unevenness, where you could throw out a half of the tracks and just keep the highlights. Luckily, this doesn’t happen on Marr’s new album. Though that also doesn’t mean every single track is outstanding. We see the usual picture: some tracks are great, while others are decent – not bad enough to be thrown in the bin, but unremarkable. Still, there is one notable critique to be made: a monolithic yet monotonous flow, with one track segueing smoothly into the next, making it sometimes a chore to separate them during active listening. Because of this, a strength of the album occasionally tuns into a weakness, smoothing out its shape due to an overly uniform consistency. However, this is truer for the opening tracks (save for the peppy
Spirit Power and Soul). Hence, it is advised to take your time and fully dive into the stylistic diversity presented by Johnny across the collection.
There are a couple of bright constellations to be found here. The delicate, mellow
Lighting People with its R&B elements is surrounded by vibrant, energetic satellites –
Hideaway Girls and
Sensory Street. Not far off is
Tenement Time, emanating rock waves to satisfy the audience’s appetite.
The Speed of Love creates a mysterious, space-and-time-expanding atmosphere, gradually filling up the ether. But then we resurface from that contemplative state with the help of the light and melodic
Night and Day, followed by the colorful
Counter Clock World (a worthy nod to
R.E.M.) to boost our buoyant mood.
Having crossed the
Rubicon (referring to both the name of the track and the point of no return where you can no longer stop listening to the record), we encounter other cuts worthy of attention. Out of this lot, the closer,
Human, deserves a special nod. Even though it is a mellow track that at first looks dispensable, after the heavy new wave / pop-rock onslaught we just swam through, it feels like a welcome relief.
And with that, we get another commendable release and one more solid addition to Johnny Marr’s slowly growing solo discography.
