Morrissey bounced back from the lackluster
Kill Uncle with the terrific
Your Arsenal. A dynamic, invigorating fusion of glam rock and rockabilly,
Your Arsenal rocks harder than any other record
Morrissey ever made. Guitarist
Alain Whyte's riffs swagger with a self-absorbed arrogance, and producer
Mick Ronson gives the music a tough, stylish sheen -- it may be a break from
Morrissey's jangle pop, but the music is sharper than at has been since
the Smiths, and so is
Morrissey's pen. Running through his trademark litany of emotional, social, and personal observations,
Morrissey is viciously clever and occasionally moving. And the songs -- whether it's the rush of "You're Gonna Need Someone on Your Side," the menacing "We'll Let You Know," the spare rockabilly bop of "Certain People I Know," the gospel-tinged "I Know It's Gonna Happen Someday," or "Tomorrow" -- are uniformly excellent, forming the core of
Morrissey's finest solo record and his best work since
The Queen Is Dead. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine