Magnificent malcontent Morrissey returns with his mariachi- and flamenco-tinged 10th solo album, World Peace Is None of Your Business. He gets down to brass tacks on the title track with sardonic jabs at the oligarchies and corporatocracies running our planet: “World peace is none of your business / So would you kindly keep your nose out / The rich must profit and get richer / And the poor must stay poor,” he croons, “Oh, you poor little fool — oh, you fool / Each time you vote you support the process.” Next, “Neal Cassady Drops Dead” gives the Mozzer ample space to pay homage to the antihero avatar immortalized in Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. Here, he further embellishes the myth, philosophically musing: “Neal Cassady drops dead / And Allen Ginsberg’s howl becomes a growl / Victim or life’s adventurer / Which of the two are you?” On “I’m Not a Man” and “Earth is the Loneliest Planet” Moz’s (perhaps justifiable) misanthropy is readily apparent. Later, on the tongue-in-cheek “Kick the Bride Down the Aisle,” the singer vents his sarcastic spleen: “She just wants a slave / To break his back in pursuit of a living wage / So that she can laze and graze / For the rest of her days.” “Istanbul” and “Mountjoy” are the standout tracks, the latter of which references the infamous Irish prison: “Brendan Behan’s laughter rings / For what he had or hadn’t done / For he knew then as I know now / That for each and every one of us / We all lose / Rich or poor, we all lose / Rich or poor, they all lose.” Though the album is bombastically overproduced, the lyrics are pure gold, proving that at 55, Mr. Steven Patrick Morrissey remains an unrepentant bitter romantic.

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