As close to a living legend in music as you can get these days, Johnny Marr could have gone off the boil at this point.
While Morrissey's album release was pierced with activity, ranging from being dropped by his label to revealing he is receiving treatment for cancer, Marr was typically low-key in his promotion. What he's produced won't surprise anyone, but it won't let you down either.
"Easy Money" is the first single from Playland, Marr's second solo album. It's jangly, guitar-driven, and conventionally written. The riff is one that you're pretty sure you wrote at some point for your band, and the emphasised bass-line is what anybody would expect from a modern indie track.
Put all those elements together and you get a very well-written song that's still jumping around inside your head when you're trying to sit down at your desk. Despite Marr's voice, which does its very best to blend into the wall, you won't forget the vocal hooks for a long while.
The intro, which feeds off the beauty of simplicity, is punctuated by the sounds we have been treated to from The Smiths and Modest Mouse. Luckily, it works just as well as it always has. Marr strikes again.
This song won't win any awards for experimentation, but for those who seek a return to basics -- for the comfort listens -- this song is apt and ideal.
SIMILAR SONGS
