Morrissey's You Are The Quarry features his most pandering, unendearing lyrics to date as well as lukewarm production and exasperatingly leaden tempos. The only track I ever want to hear again is "America Is Not The World," which is both anthemic and enjoyably eccentric. "First Of The Gang To Die" is almost spirited - Mozz even offers some tentative scatting at the end, but the lyrics are such an obvious sop to his newfound Hispanic audience that I'm surprised he didn't say "when you're a Jet, you're a Jet all the way." I've never been less sympathetic to this guy's internal drama (and he shows up three times in my top 100 albums list, you know).

If you need a different perspective, enjoy Brent DiCrescennzo's sycophantic review of You Are The Snoring in Pitchfork. Turns out I'm a fool for wanting to hear strong, memorable music behind Morrissey's voice, for "any instrumental bed under such incandescent personality and booming voice would pale." After all, who ELSE in the history of recorded music would have the acidic wit and the bravery to use phrases like "evil legal eagles" and "uniformed whores"? Maybe he should just move on to spoken word! I mean, who didn't enjoy "Sorrow Will Come In The End" from Maladjusted? Ugh.