Picadilly Palare

It's been precisely 24 years since I was introduced to Steven Patrick Morrissey.
I remember it so clearly, as I thought my heart would explode when I first heard his lovelorn voice between my ears. Fast forward to 2006 and we still have the supreme pleasure of listening to a now noted god-father of alternative rock. I love the idea that he's still singing with the same level of torment and despair he did all those years ago. His latest offering is Ringleader of the Tormentors. Eight albums into his renaissance and we find our Moz still at the top of his lyrical game. Fittingly, this entire cd is much more orchestral than past projects. The second track: Dear God, Please Help Me is totally self pitying. The albums centerpiece, Life is a Pigsty (which no doubt mirrors quite aptly how our orator really feels about the state of being), begins with obvious reminders of How Soon Is Now, when it sooner rather than later, plummets into a spellbinding Prozac-comedown to the orchestra pit, with bruises as evidence. This time round, the emotions feel that much rawer. This likely speaks to his recent experiences in both love and life (we'll never really know from where he draws his inspirations). Here we have a showcase of a more familiar Morrissey turf, laid out within the titles themselves. In my mind, he will be forever thought of as the master of the once-heard-never-forgotten persuasion. If ever there was a writer who managed to sing his life, while remaining resolutely out of reach, it is Morrissey. You Have Killed Me adds new layers of both clarity and opacity to that particular glass onion. Perfectly fitting.