Armatopia Review

(This review was written February 22nd when the single was released)

Former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr is the hero that we never knew we needed. This environmentally aware single is a heartfelt warning from Marr, there are synth elements that perfectly fit with Johnny’s surprising vocals that offer no real hope, and ideals of us all going out together; lines like ‘let’s dance to the sound of our time running out’ being a stark and poignant reminder to us all of how were ignoring the massive problem of climate change.

His classic guitar can be heard in the track, unlike the majority of his work, it is underpinned by his lyrics, they need to be heard and heeded, as what they preach is something that shouldn’t be taken lightly, and the words seem to come from a place of concern and deep understanding, a rare thing within music today. I think Johnny knew that this single was never going to make waves or break records, but I think he just wanted to spread the intergral message, so deeply entwined within the song.

The music video is a bizarre but perfect mashup between the ideals and acceptance of now, but the look and the feel of the 1980s, with Marr making a not too rare appearance in his own video, as a club singer, clinging to a pint and swaying in time to the many, repetitive ‘na, na, na’s. In fact, it is these Na’s that are the only thing I think drags the song down. I understand why they’re there, I just believe they were overused, but the weight of what Johnny was saying was thankfully never over taken by these adages.

Armatopia feels like a polished and political warning to us all, and with Marr embarking on a European tour (even working with New Order in Athens) maybe a new album isn’t on the horizon. However, a short festival circuit followed by three more UK shows (including two with son Nile), does mean he is a very busy man, and hopefully more politically inclined album will accompany this stellar single.