Album #167: Strangeways, Here We Come

By The Smiths (1987)

Strangeways, Here We Come on 1001albumsgenerator

I always assumed I'd have a Smiths phase, as inevitable as a Beatles phase and a Bowie phase. It didn't happen. This is the second smiths album to come up in my list, and now I'm fairly sure it never will.

I've tried as hard as possible to set aside that Morrissey has become (has always been?) been a bit of an edgelord. It's tough when that's what he's been famous for for longer than The Smiths existed. And maybe it's why all the best moments of the album are the music between the lyrics - the times he lets the band shine.

There's more variety in the music than expected. A mouth organ over some almost country guitar reverb, synths, an autoharp. None of it is too jarring or dated, but it also seems like a departure from the model Smiths songs I have in my head. From checking Wikipedia after listening, it sounds like the band were happy with it, and it sold, but might not be the fan favourite. At which point it feels like an odd choice as a must-hear album.

The best thing to come out of The Smiths was Johnny Marr's work on Modest Mouse's We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, a mid-table album for Modest Mouse.

Rating

⭐⭐

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