I Am Not A Dog On A Chain - Morrissey: Review
is a legendary British musician and former frontman of The Smiths. Despite a successful ongoing run as a solo artist he has been frequently controversial for many of his political views which sometimes manifest through songs. The record had three singles that continue in his long running social commentary heavy indie rock and pop approach.
Review By Lavender:
There is no secret that The Smiths are incredible, everyone knows that. But even since then Morrissey has continued to impress me with his incredible Bona Drag compilation album and a number of solid solo records. Though I skipped his recent covers record his last true studio album Low In High School was far from perfect but included a handful of highlights that had me excited for what may come next, and Dog is certainly an improvement and on par with his best records of the last two decades.
The records singles were a little bit inconsistent and the record itself becomes fittingly inconsistent in the same way, but lets start with the best singles and tracks the album has to offer. Bobby, Don't You Think They Know was the lead single and I really enjoy it. The song has an explosive instrumental with some booming drums and and a super satisfying build. The female guest vocals are a pretty compelling pair with Morrissey and they team up for a really interesting song and performance. One of the best parts of this record is the instrumental crescendos and builds that are consistently satisfying and make for excellent songs. The title track I Am Not A Dog On A Chain features one of the records best builds to an awesome takeoff point. The hook is pretty right and is grows on you quickly which makes the track a big time highlight in every way. Darling, I Hug A Pillow sees Morrissey in his feelings which should always get you excited for a song. The track comes with some sweet backing vocals and a brass instrumental like that makes for a cool multi-phased series of musical passages. The closing track The Secret Of Music is the longest here and thankfully a major highlight with a huge bumping bassline that persist throughout most of the song. The vocal performance is one of the best on the record and the song really does a good job of making almost all of its runtime pretty essential.
The record doesn't have a whole ton of truly bad moments but it does have a number of songs that teeter on forgettable instrumentally or structurally. Jim Jim Falls is a decent catchy opener that definitely sees Morrissey leaving it all out there but does have some confusing lyrical moments that I'm not sure totally fit with the sound of the track and makes for some strangeness. What Kind Of People Live In These Houses? has some strong elements of social commentary but I think the vocal lines and the instrumental suffer a little bit. Knockabout World was another single with some grand moments that don't do a whole ton of adding up to anything and make for just an okay track. Once I Saw The River Clean has a driving techno beat that helps highlight a number of cool instrumental moments mainly a slick hazy guitar interlude. The closing track My Hurling Days Are Done is a hugely sentimental track that takes on the passage of sime and while it isn't terrible it also isn't particularly one of my favorites. It does fit pretty well at the end of the record though as an emotional wrapping up for some of its themes.
The record only has a pair of tracks I really can't stand and one of them was the records second single Love Is On Its Way Out. The message is clear but the build is painfully flat and the track is just written in a painful rambley way. The other track I see as a big letdown is The Truth About Ruth sees Morrissey playing detective over some wandering piano phrases that kick off into a bridge with a huge guitar riff that all sounds fine but adds up to absolutely nothing conclusive and does much more confusing than anything else.
I Am Not A Dog On A Chain is a solid piece of the ever growing discography of one of the worlds all time great songwriters. It doesn't have a ton of the best or worst moments we've ever heard from Morrissey but it is one of the more consistent pieces of his more recent discography. While the record may not be one of the best of the year it certainly has some worthwhile moments and for fans it is a step in the right direction worth hearing. 6.5/10
