Released just months after The Smiths’ debut album, this collection of non-LP B-sides and singles finds Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr brilliantly blending deceptively simple motifs with literate, trenchant lyrics. From the anthemic art-pop of “How Soon Is Now?” to the cockeyed, quasi-R&B of “This Night Has Opened My Eyes,” every song here is hummable and melancholic in equal measure. Unquenchable yearning on “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want,” the ironic narcissism of “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now”—the moods and themes gel effortlessly too.
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