Johnny Marr + The Healers
Boomslang

LA RECENSIONE

It's no secret that Johnny Marr, away from the Smiths, has always expressed himself at levels far from his innate talent.
Ignoring unnecessary words on how much the band of "The Queen Is Dead" was significant in the musical landscape and simply acknowledging how the role of good Johnny was as crucial as that of the driving force Morrissey, we must note how the guitarist in the '90s always struggled to find the right placement worthy of his name.
The Electronic have always been a side project, Sumner as soon as he could threw himself heart and soul back into the New Order, the roles of session man (with The The and Talking Heads) were a pastime, and those of producer a never truly successful experiment.

Now, with the recruitment of two more missing persons in British rock such as Alonza Bevan, former bassist of the defunct Kula Shaker, and Zak Starkey, son of the legendary Ringo Starr as well as an expert session man with the Who, Marr attempts to reintroduce himself by crafting an album in pure Brit-pop style that not only seems to arrive significantly delayed but gives the impression that if it had been released, throwing out a random date, in 1995 it certainly wouldn't have been among the best around.

"Caught Up" could be perfect for Oasis's "Heathen Chemistry," be careful this is absolutely not a compliment, "Down The Corner" mimics the Charlatans while listening to "Long Gone" cannot help but evoke the late Stone Roses.
These are just some examples to demonstrate how this album is full of embarrassing references to bands more or less known from the recent decade of Brit rock.

Played undoubtedly flawlessly, we only missed Marr forgetting how to use a guitar, but sung in a rather anonymous way, "Boomslang" is an album past its prime, a pointless expression of a genre appreciated in its few years of life but never so much missed once it was exhausted.

Thinking of the Smiths and the British bands of the '90s influenced by the sound of Morrissey and co., we can assert that no student ever surpassed the masters, if conversely, we turn our attention to the Healers, we notice how Marr with "Boomslang" has quoted, copied, aped the same English groups that not even a decade ago he helped to nurture.