Pick four songs from any band and you can tell a lot about their sound. This summer, I’m featuring #RockBlocks, four picks from bands across various genres. They might be wildly different from each other, but what binds them together is the fact that they’re all a part of my life soundtrack.
Strangeways, Here We Come is an album that has grown on me over time. It has gotten better with time. Strangeways didn’t feature the vintage Smiths sound, but instead it expanded and explored more than the other three albums combined. Interestingly, it also gave us a glimpse into some of the sounds that Morrissey would later lean on in his solo career. It all started with their unusual opening track from the band.
The Smiths were often either morose or mopey, but “A Rush and a Push and the Land is Ours” was almost menacing. And it was a sign of a band that was doing a little pushing of its own into new musical territories. For a band that was driven largely by Marr’s jangle-pop infused guitar riffs, this song stuck out like a sore thumb. There wasn’t a guitar to be found on the entire track, instead Marr went with a keyboard sound that created a circus-like environment. Then there was Morrissey, singing, humming and even growling his way through the song, demonstrating incredible versatility on lead vocals.
“A rush and a push and the land. That we stand on is ours. It has been before so it shall be again.”