Pitchfork

It's been a long radio silence for the Mozzer, as his last studio release was way back in 1997-- now remembered by history as the Golden Age of Teen Pop. Yes, the Spice Girls and the Backstreet Boys were riding high on the charts, Britney and *NSYNC were but a year or two from joining the fray and claiming total musical dominance, and it seemed that the end of the world was indeed near. Into this frosty climate, Morrissey released Maladjusted... and then retreated. Reportedly unable to find a record deal following the poor sales of Maladjusted and its predecessor (the frequently lambasted and underappreciated) Southpaw Grammar, Morrissey has remained largely under the radar for the last seven years, save a(nother) greatest hits compilation in 2002 that boasted a single rarity, 1998's "Lost."

Well, it's a brand new day, and papa's got a brand new bag, as Billboard reports that Morrissey will release his new album on May 18th. As reported here this winter, You Are the Quarry will be released on Sanctuary, via the revived Attack Records label. Morrissey elaborated on the new album in a statement: "This is the best album I've ever done... There are no links to the past. This is a much brighter sounding album than much of my previous work. We've turned the page with Quarry. It's a dynamic album and I couldn't be any happier."

Somewhat curiously, You Are the Quarry was produced by Jerry Finn, who is best known for his work with pseudo-punk acts like Green Day and Blink-182. "I wanted a louder sound for this record," said Morrissey. "I was introduced to Jerry by a mutual friend. He made me feel very confident... He was able to help me create the sound for this album that I had already been hearing in my head." As for Finn: "This is one of the best records I've produced. It's just purely organic and it sounds incredible."

Morrissey is backed up on the album by his longtime collaborators Boz Boorer and Alain Whyte on guitar, and newer recruits Gary Day and Dean Butterworth on bass and drums, respectively. A major change in the approach for this album is that the band actually tracked the album together in the studio-- a change from past sessions where Morrissey would track his vocals, leaving Boorer and Whyte to create the music around them. The finalized tracklist is yet to be released, but songs on the album include "America Is Not The World," "I Have Forgiven Jesus," "The World Is Full of Crashing Bores," "I'm Not Sorry," and "You Know I Couldn't Last." An extensive tour of the U.S. and Europe will follow the release of Quarry.

It appears that Morrissey has found an appreciative home in Sanctuary and Attack, as a recent press release indicates plans for the future for both Morrissey and the label. "I've been a fan of the Attack label for quite some time," Morrissey said. "I have a Gregory Isaacs seven-inch on my refrigerator. Well, I told Sanctuary that I wanted to relaunch the label and have Quarry released on Attack and they agreed." Morrissey will also recruit and sign new talent to Attack-- starting with a comeback album from Nancy Sinatra, for whom Morrissey has already written a song (we're not kidding).

Finally, Morrissey has been tapped by the South Bank Centre to be the artistic director of the next Meltdown Festival-- an innovative event that allows the chosen director to fully create the image and lineup of his personal edition of Meltdown. Morrissey will join past directors like David Bowie, Nick Cave, and John Peel in building a festival with events that can include anything from music and film to comedy and poetry readings. "This is a privilege and I will rise to it," said Morrissey in a statement. "Curating Meltdown is a great opportunity for me to acknowledge some of the music and words that have excited me over the years." The festival will take place at London's South Bank from June 11 to 27-- it's still in the planning stages, but the full line-up should be announced soon.