The Smiths – Strangeways, Here We Come
Released in 1987, Strangeways, Here We Come is The Smiths’ final album, because of course it is. Just when the band finally sound relaxed, expansive and oddly at peace with themselves, they promptly split up. Very on brand.
Musically, this is The Smiths at their most confident and polished. Johnny Marr’s guitars are lush, layered and occasionally downright pretty, while the rhythm section grooves with an ease that earlier albums sometimes avoided. Morrissey, meanwhile, sounds liberated – less miserablist icon, more sharp-witted observer, delivering some of his most elegant melodies and quotable lines with a sly grin rather than a theatrical sigh.
There’s no outright anthem in the mould of “This Charming Man”, but that’s sort of the point. Tracks like “Girlfriend in a Coma”, “I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish” and “Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me” unfold with patience and nuance, rewarding repeated listens rather than demanding immediate adoration.
Despite its famously bleak title, Strangeways, Here We Come feels surprisingly warm, even optimistic in places – the sound of a band growing up just in time to walk away. Not so much a dramatic exit as a perfectly judged mic drop. A fitting end, even if everyone involved insists it wasn’t meant to be one.