.com Musician, heal thyself. Having lived with advanced sideman syndrome ever since his glory days in the Smiths, Johnny Marr finally steps into the spotlight with his full-length frontman debut. So how do Marr and the Healers stack up against alma maters the Smiths, The The, and Electronic? Boomslang is a rock-solid collection of dreamy, droning, sublimely melodic pop offerings. Marr makes little attempt to match the languid solipsism of Morrissey, the existential dread of Matt Johnson, or the enigmatic electro-pop of Bernard Sumner. Instead, from the hypnotic rock of "The Last Ride" to the reflectively pastoral "Something to Shout About," Marr's songs are as unaffected, his singing as mellifluous, as the tastefully expressive guitar work that's earned him a place among rock's most acclaimed instrumentalists. Already together for three years, Marr, Zak Starkey, and Alonza Bevan form a tight rock trio that knows when to loosen up, not least on the seven-minute "You Are the Magic." While cohort Sumner's career trajectory from Joy Division guitarist to New Order frontman was decidedly faster, the cofounder of Manchester's other best known band has made a two-decade journey from codependency to creative control that, in its own unassuming way, is no less satisfying. --Bill Forman
