"Bobby, Don't You Think They Know?" Released: 10 January 2020
"Love Is On Its Way Out" Released: 31 January 2020
"Knockabout World" Released: 21 February 2020
I Am Not a Dog on a Chain is the thirteenth solo studio album by Morrissey, released through BMG on 20 March 2020. It is Morrissey's first album of original material since 2017's Low in High School.[1] It was produced by Joe Chiccarelli, and lead single "Bobby, Don't You Think They Know?" features vocals from Thelma Houston.[2]
In a press release, Morrissey called the album "the very best of me" and "too good to be true [...] too true to be considered good".[1] Producer Joe Chiccarelli described it as Morrissey's "boldest and most adventurous album yet", claiming that he has "pushed the boundaries yet again – both musically and lyrically".[3]
I Am Not a Dog on a Chain currently holds a score of 62 out of 100 - indicating "generally favourable" reviews - on review aggregator Metacritic, based on 13 reviews.[5] Josh Modell of The A.V. Club gave the album a B− and felt that the lyrical content was the weakest but that Morrissey displayed songcraft and "a great vocal performance".[6] The editorial staff of AllMusic gave the album 3.5 out of five stars, with reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine summing up his review by calling the album "one of the better latter-day Morrissey records" but decrying how "placid and complacent he's been for the better part of a decade".[7] Mina Tavakoli of Pitchfork rated the album 6.1 out of 10 and called it "frequently ridiculous, mildly captivating, and occasionally repetitive, pocked by moments of goofiness that come from the runoff of a man eager to chase old miseries and find new ones to berate".[10]
Writing for The Independent, Jake Cudsi rated the album two out of five stars, opining that it "has its moments, but they are brief and virtually lost amid the more experimental forays".[8] Laura Snapes of The Guardian also gave the album two out of five stars, judging that Morrissey plays the "victim" and is "often lost among the strident music as he hectors people afraid to be themselves", though his "coyness undermines his apparent glee as a truth-teller".[12]Associated Press wrote: "Morrissey delivers his best musical performance in years"[13]
