Even with his album, Bonfire of Teenagers, trapped in release limbo, that hasn’t stopped Morrissey from working on a follow-up to the yet-to-be-released record.
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The former Smiths frontman recently confirmed plans to begin recording his 15th solo album, starting in January of next year. “Studio time is booked for January and February 2023 when Morrissey will record his new album, Without Music the World Dies,” a statement on the singer’s website shared. The new project will reportedly be produced by ten-time Grammy award-winner, Joe Chiccarelli.
“The band continues to be Jesse Tobias, Gustavo Manzur, Alain Whyte, Juan Galeano and Brendan Buckley,” the post continued. “The 12 songs were written by Morrissey with Alain Whyte, Jesse Tobias, Gustavo Manzur. There is no record label as yet for the project, and ways to attain global distribution are being researched.”
Morrissey commented on the news, saying, “The songs, of course, are magnificent, and even the relentless difficulties we have experienced recently are not enough to kill us off.”
Morrissey’s 14th solo record and self-proclaimed best album, Bonfire of Teenagers, was set to drop in February of 2023, but was delayed due to unrevealed circumstances.
A previous message posted to his website, titled “Bonfire Unlit,” simply read, “‘Bonfire of Teenagers’ is no longer scheduled for a February release, as stated by this site. Its fate is exclusively in the hands of Capitol Records (Los Angeles.)”
During a recent interview, filmed in the empty London Palladium during his October U.K. tour, Morrissey first revealed his plans for the halted album’s follow-up, giving few details about what’s to come.
“We have written the follow-up album,” he explained about his next project. “And that will be recorded soon, but it won’t be released soon, because Bonfire of Teenagers must have a chance to breathe and blow and so forth. But it will be recorded soon.”
Morrissey has previewed much of the music from Bonfire of Teenagers during his live shows this year. He recently wrapped a string of end-of-year shows across the United States, the majority of which were canceled due to an unexplained “band illness.” Amid the cancelations, Morrissey offered fans a first official look into Bonfire of Teenagers, releasing his first single in three years, “Rebels Without Applause.”
Listen below.
Photo by Jim Dyson
