Johnny Marr and The Healers, Boomslang

When Johnny Marr unplugged his guitar and walked out of the Smiths in 1987, his time as the king of jangly guitar was effectively over, as much by his own choice as anything else. Beyond a lackluster teaming with New Order’s Bernard Sumner in Electronic, Marr was inconspicuous through the 1990s, interspersing sideman stints with Oasis, The The and Kirsty MacColl with long sabbaticals in the desert. In 2000, he finally took his place as bandleader again, forming the Healers with drummer Zak “Son of Ringo” Starkey and ex-Kula Shaker bassist Alonza Bevan. His new group throws down a heavy rock sound flavored with a bit of dance and world rhythm, reminiscent more of My Bloody Valentine and post-Achtung Baby U2 than the Smiths. Still, comparisons with the old band are inevitable, and in that respect Marr’s choice to write and sing his own lyrics is regrettable. He’s flat, generic and humorless—everything that Morrissey wasn’t. But his propensity for layered, propulsive rock is undiminished, and the reported difficulty in finding a label willing to release Boomslang is hard to understand. Marr’s spirit is best expressed by his six-string, and it’s back at the forefront of the music where it belongs.