Album Review: Johnny Marr – Call The Comet


Call The Comet



Johnny Marr is not a man to sit still. Since you-know-who disbanded in 1987 he’s been part of so many musical projects that it’s been nigh on impossible to keep track.

From a longstanding working relationship with the Pet Shop Boys, to his one-album-then-out situation with The Cribs, via living in Portland to fully embrace his time with Modest Mouse and the spell with Bernard Summer in Electronic, his journey has been anything but predictable.

Even for the last six years, when he’s ostensibly been a solo artist, he’s taken out a lot of time to work with Hans Zimmer on a number of film scores, collaborated with actress Maxine Peake and squeezed in an autobiography (which, granted, is about as solo as you can get).

While first two solo albums The Messenger and Playland were both fine pieces of work, he’s finally found a sound of his own on latest offering Call The Comet.

Proceedings open with a staggered introduction on Rise before the instantly recognisable arpeggio kicks in for a widescreen opener. It’s no nostalgia-fest though, the percussion having much more weight than in halcyon days. First single The Tracers has a propulsive drive that contrasts well with the slightly more fey ‘woo-hoos’ which are the song’s tent-poles. It will come as no surprise that this is a guitar-led album – being regarded as one of the best of all time will guarantee that – but Marr is anything but a one-trick pony. On Hey Angel he enters into full Rock God territory, the song having a much less nuanced, chunkier sound with distorted vocals only adding to the sense of disharmony.

However, there’s no denying that recent single Hi Hello does sound like The Smiths, even down to the strings, and thank goodness for that. It’s absolutely gorgeous, with an air of wistful melancholia that instantly makes the heart sing. The layers of guitars are all doing distinctly different things, and it stands up to anything he has put his name to. Then in a complete volte-face, New Dominion contains a drum machine, limited guitars and a sense of discomfort that Berlin-era Bowie would be proud of.

The whole album is peppered with effects and unearthly rhythms; Actor Attractor has synths that hark back toth Electronic days, and album centrepiece Walk Into The Sea offers ninety seconds of a variety of instruments all backed by a nagging pulse before it kicks into life with a sky-scraping, windswept, ear-consuming sound. As a contrast, Marr talks rather than sings throughout the song in a defiant tone.

As rightly heralded as he is, it always seems to go without comment how much funk Marr brings to the mix. It’s not without reason Nile Rodgers rates him so highly, and an argument could be made that The Smiths were actually a funk band. Bug is a perfect case in point, strutting as it does but the guitars on both verse and chorus could easily sit anywhere in Chic’s catalogue.

The only real criticism is that Marr’s limited vocal range does mean that, towards the end, the verses start to blend into one, but fortunately when the songs are this good it has minimal impact. This is particularly apparent on Spiral Cities, dragged back by the chorus when it at first seems like mere filler.



For one with a such frivolous attitude towards his work, Johnny Marr’s quality control is impeccable. Call The Comet is a more than worthy addition to an already mighty canon.

(Richard Bowes)


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