Johnny Marr: Call the Comet

Side A opens with ‘Rise’ a bright and beautiful opening, complete with a classic Johnny Marr riff but also tinged with synths and reverberating bass. It’s a showcase of Johnny at his very best. ‘The Tracers’ is the next song and showcases a blend of indie pop with film soundtracks something Johnny has dipped his toe in recent years. This song combines them both effortlessly. ‘Hey Angel’ is tinged with Glam and Britpop sounds. The former was something that influenced a young Johnny and the later was a movement greatly influenced by Marr. In this song Johnny combines them both to create a classic. ‘Hi Hello’ is a melancholic masterpiece. Influenced a little by ‘There is A Light That Never Goes Out’  and is a true highlight of the record. ‘New Dominions’ is one of the albums most atmospheric tracks and sees Johnny Marr take a big electronic leap forward, not satisfied to rest on his laurels, always developing his sound. ‘Day In Day Out’ ends Side A end is one of my highlights of the album. It’s a jangly guitar pop song, with a catchy chorus and spine tingling riff. It’s a throwback to his earlier work but still sounds fresh and modern! A brilliant song.

Side B opens with another soundtrack like song ‘Walk Into the Sea’ it’s very atmospheric and features beautiful backing vocals from Johnny’s daughter Sonny Marr it’s an experiment but it’s an experiment done right. ‘Walk Into the Sea’ is one of the most standout tracks on the record. ‘Bug’ is the next song on Side B another brilliant riff is present on this track and the repetition found in the lyrics make it a catchy classic. It also sees Johnny deliver the vocals differently to how he would usually and it makes for a very interesting listen. ‘Actor Attractor’ sees Johnny step into psychedelic territory, it’s a rather unique sound and there’s nothing remotely close to it on the record, it’s a very different track but that doesn’t make it any less brilliant. ‘Spiral Cities’ takes things back to basics and sees Johnny channel his energy into a classic indie pop song, once again this song features backing vocals from Sonny and they really add to the song in a positive way. ‘My Eternal’ is the penultimate track on the album. A synth line is the main hook and everything seems to build around it, it’s a song that could only be formed in Manchester reminding me a lot of New Order. ‘A Different Gun’ brings the album to a close, it’s the perfect swan song to a brilliant album bringing together a number of elements from the previous tracks. It feels like the credits are rolling and we’ve come to the end. Johnny Marr is a huge part of my musical life and this album is up there with the best things he’s ever done!