Strangeways, Here We Come

Rated down due to the lead singer being a twat

Thanks to apple music, I can turn on Karaoke mode and turn off Morrissey's lyrics. It's the only way I can get through Smith's albums now...

This is the only one of their albums that is new to me, but it is also really good. Shame Morrisey is a shithead though.

Definitely an entertaining listen. Some of the topics make me chuckle — who else could have a song called "Girlfriend in a Coma"? Or wish someone an "Unhappy Birthday"?

nao é o melhor deles, mas é bom

Bra låtar, bästa tyckte jag är "Last night I dreamt that somebody loved me"

Love the Smiths. There isn't a huge change from album to album within their discography, which I guess makes sense since they were together for a pretty brief period, but they're always really solid. This had some tracks that felt a little heavier on the guitar which I appreciated. Great album overall.

Cheers Moz you miserable ape

✅️ STILL BANGS HARD, even if the singer is a dickhead. Favorite songs -Unhappy Birthday -I Started Something I Couldn't Finish -Girlfriend In A Coma -Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before

Can't help but love The Smiths. Weaker than their other albums but still charming.

sad. siren. problems.

oh morrisey. i do love his echoey ethereal style. closely related to like tears for fears and the '80s post-punk synth world. although the smiths as a whole don't seem to be very synth-y. they could be. but why would they need to be, when they have morrisey? tracks 8 & 9 have suddenly changed to like this almost modern country sound?? not a sound i associate at all with '80s british rock. i think that's at least a 4/5? on the merits that i like the echo-y sound i think it's weird and neat.

Boring

Not the best Smiths album.

ohhhhh kids..the Smiths are my BABIES I got this when it came out, literally memorized every word through incessant, obsessive listening.. seriously, every note lol.. lovelovelovelove everything about this record - the depth, the songwriting & lyrics, the arrangements - the fact that sad & depressing w the Smiths becomes a beautiful melody that drowns out any sad (death of a disco dancer is perhaps one of the most beautiful) my brother Mike loves that song. No flaws here, they have been untouchable royalty since the day I heard them as a young teen. Has the perrier gone straight to my head? 5++++++++

My fave from this band. They broke up at their peak. Fun and catchy to sing along to. Death of a Disco Dancer is phenomenal and the best track. I love how it devolves into chaos and dissonance at the end.

Pure sass. Sass sees something deeper and then antagonistically calls it out into the light. It’s calm but has an edge to it.

I believe I still have Julie Douglas Strangeways tape. She left it in my car after an early spring afternoon of aimlessly driving around the inner Atlanta suburbs - not the true 'burbs where I lived - the inner ring where my private school friends lived. I have a lot of memories driving around Atlanta listening to music. Musical accompaniment ran the gamut depending on who I was with - the Replacements, U2, Def Leppard, Guadalcanal Diary (a local band that had a moment), Pink Floyd, Slayer, NWA and the Smiths. I didn't know at the time I was freezing these innocuous moments in amber. Music attaches itself to these random non events - and then years later without asking they are conjured as if from a dream - you catch a glimpse. Blink and it's gone. But know these seemingly inconsequential moments will live forever when they are tied to a good melody. Especially when you are young. So choose carefully. Was that a better way to go than discussing the quasi religious experience I had one night listening to the outro of Death of a Disco Dancer? Now that was a moment.

Number: 295 Familiarity: Moderate (3) Rating: 4 Before: ======= So I've had one The Smith album already, my personal favorite, btw, and I don't think there needs to be more than one on this list as they are all pretty similar, imo. After : ======= High 3 / Low 4. I'll give it a 4 - shouldn't be on this list though.

Maybe a 9/10 but the good bits are so good it gets a 5/5 from me.

The vocals always feel like they are disconnected from the underlying music and I don't find that particularly enjoyable or crafty. Morrisey's vocal performance style is annoying as usual. On the positive side it feels like the least preaching from their high horse of The Smiths albums. I also enjoyed their inclusion of synths and other non-guitar instrumentation choices. Unfortunately I didn't find the arrangements themselves all that interesting or engaging.

Didn't listen... [1] Spotify issues. But know it well.

8/10. Even when not at their best, still produced a great record.

Enjoyable

Is this the Bonnie blue bang bus?

Mangler revidering

favorite tracks: A Rush and a Push and the Land Is Ours, I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish, Girlfriend in a Coma, Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before, Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me, I Won’t Share You

The actual best. Love them forever

Strange ways, here we come — The Smiths Pre-listening: Last time I had them (5 days ago), I rationalized that I would have liked them had I been a teen in the 90s. Wonder if this will further convince me of that or turn me off to them. Best: Death of a Disco Dancer Runner-Up: Girlfriend in a Coma Third: I Won’t Share You Post-listening: This album justified a lot of my curiosity from Meat is Murder. Marr’s composing > Morrissey’s singing, but I will say Morrissey’s lyrics were better here. It also justified for me that I would have liked this band if I was a teen in the 80s. The guitar is so addictive and the layering is so satisfying. It’s what I look for in music. The album had better tracks, wasn’t as stretched out as Meat is Murder and was definitely a better balance of the band’s overall talent. Ironically, it was the band’s last studio album which means they may have been at their best and worst at the same time. Still, it’s an album worth listening to and revisiting in the spring. Rating: 7/10 Stars: 3/5

Never listened to a full album by them and this just solidifies my feelings for them. Can’t stand Morrissey and Marr’s guitars feel put to the side for a more synthesized pop sound. Not for me, couple of cool tracks

"I love the smiths What I said i love the smiths" - peaceful, silly - liked it

oog these guys mostly these feel like bitter breakup songs there's some good music here, but it's very much of a vibe

me gustó!! mis favoritas: i started something i couldn’t finish y last night i dreamt that somebody love me

Ihan ok levy, muutama biisi oli todella hyviä, mutta osa aika tasapaksuja. Morriseyn ääni on aika kuulas ja hivenen erikoinen. Soitto oli erinomaista.

Album length - short Memorable songs/melodies - death of a disco dancer, girlfriend in a coma, last night i dreamt that somebody loved me, unhappy birthday Added to my music library - no Other remarks - none

Boring. I found myself wanting to get over with it while listening to this album. Songs mostly sound similar. Certainly it is not a bad album but this felt more like a background music type of album for me. Don’t think i would listen to it again. Favorite song from this album is A Rush and a Push and the Land Is Ours.

I like it. Very Smiths sounding

I know this album very well. It is a classic. This is the Smiths’ swan song and what a swan song. There are a number of tremendous songs on this album. Stop me if you think you’ve heard this before. It has great lyrics: I still love you/ only slightly less than I used to my love. Then there is the scathing attack on the music industry Paint a Vulgar Picture. At the record company meeting/ on their hands a dead star/ and oh the plans they weave/ oh the sickening greed. The music accompanying it is outstanding. There are the nasty litte vignettes Girlfriend in a comma and Unhappy Birthday. All the songs are good on this album. This album illustrates why the Smiths were one of the best bands of the 80s. This is an amazing album. Five big stars. Alas, it was the last Smiths’ album.

This is pretty good! Still get the feeling that Morrissey and Marr are working siloed but both have improved in their craft since the Meat Is Murder and there are more standout singles here. Airy, funny (unintentionally, but still) and the production is top notch.

vibe, 8/10

Real close to a 2/5, there were just enough songs that I could sort of nod my head along with, even if they were a bit silly like Unhappy Girlfriend. 3/5 stars

#130 - The Smiths - Strangeways, Here We Come ⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Smiths are a good band, and this album is fine. But I don’t get the people who are completely obsessed with them. This is good but somber Brit pop from the 80s. Not super compelling or inspiring, but totally just fine.

Kinda weird to get this album right after Morrissey, but I prefer Strangeways, Here We Come over You Are the Quarry. Strangeways, Here We Come has a cleaner sound, and Morrissey's voice is like a haunting echo.

it was good but not that good

Excellent

I still love The Smiths, despite Morrissey. SHWC is a bit of a mixed bag. A couple of so-so songs and some displeasing arrangements, but the good stuff still really shines.

★★★★★★

Not for me.

The most intricate of Morrissey's lyrics - not sure if the most poetic, he'd written some damn fine lyrics before, just more direct than this Still annoyed at the lack of Hatful of Hollow in the list, which is what I always end up listening to after any Smiths/Morrissey album here

I don't know what Mark Hoppus heard, but I can kinda hear it, I kinda can't. It's not that bad, but it's not that good either.

The smiths are so fucking good dude it really sucks that morrissey died in that horrific accident but luckily he never had time to say any heinous shit

How many Morrissey albums are in this list? The pretentious prattle of his voice gnaws at my ears every time. Luckily for this one, Johnny Marr is the highlight. It's passable as being listenable, and I can see the appeal. Just not for me. I'll pass on Morrissey

Another Smiths album. Another wish this was an instrumental band. 2 stars

Rip my first lot of comments disappeared. Overall I really enjoyed this album, I find it very coherent across all the tracks, knowing what I do about the Smiths the range of genre/instruments surprised me a little, but these were mostly all new songs to me. I really like the vocal tone across the album and think the musical choices pair well with it. I also love the Smiths humour in the album. Overall I'm struggling to find good or valuable words to discuss or talk about it, like the music is indie(?) but with more going on? And without further listening I'm just not sure how to discuss the extra parts that I'm hearing in there. But I do feel like if I was alive in the 80s my friends and I would be belting these songs at the top of our lungs.

Couldn't really get through it. Its prob fun but all of the songs sound the same. whimsical and monotone. also apparently this guy sucks

I think this may be the best all-around Smiths album I've heard so far. Morrissey's voice still gets old after a while, but the album feels more cohesive than their other work I've listened to. It's a solid start-to-finish album, even if I'm still not completely sold on the band.

Before Morrissey was an insufferable Twat he actually made great music . It’s telling that this is so great while not being there best. No one does up beat melancholy better

Dakle album sam poslušao, ali kao da nisam. Dakle samo mi je proletilo, a nista mi se nije izdvojilo. Bas lose. Nemam kaj ni zapisat za najbolju pjesmu kad je tolko monotono bilo da nisam ni skuzio.

Strangeways, Here We Come - The Smiths (1987) Is it just me or does Morrissey sound particularly whiny on this one?.. Anyway, that was a good album, though the tracks sounded a bit too similar to my taste. Not as good as The Queen Is Dead IMO. ⭐⭐⭐ 7/10

Fuck Morrissey.

Meget smiths.

Me pasó de noche.... :( Pero algunas rolas se destacan. O nunca me han gustado los Smiths :(

The album I'm least familiar with. I prefer the dead queen, bombs and their EP. Too many songs drag. But despite the lead's questionable humanity, this is ok.

Medio masomenos, no me encantó

General thoughts: First Smiths' album I got; so far I've only listened to singles. And it's more post-punkish and mature-sounding than what I've heard; strictly sonically speaking, the lyrics are equally unhinged. That's why I would love to have the generator assign albums chronologically per artist, so we can observe their progression clearly. So, comparing against the disperse knowledge I have, the sound is calmer and cinematic, very 80s too, and reminds me of the Psychedelic Furs. I think the essence of this album heavily relies on Morriseys. His singing style is pretty iconic, with this cadence that seems like all verses deserve equal attention as verses. The instrumentals are pretty meh, but they do have interesting arrangements here and there. The writing-composition duo is, of course, another winning combination that elevates this album. Strangeways is solid undespite the underwhelming ending, but misses some spice I hopefully expect in earlier albums. Outstanding song(s): Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before Weakest song(s): Death At One's Elbow I Won't Share You Cover: Per wikipedia, Morrisey liked using phographs of people he admired; the previous albums were insanely better picks, though... Real rating: 3.65

C'était pas franchement mon truc, donc j'étais étonnamment surpris d'apprécier autant l'écoute. C'est le quatrième et dernier album des Smiths et quelque chose me dit que j'en aurai d'autres dans la liste, parce que les trois autres sont aussi extrêmement bien noté, mieux que celui-là, même. Comme c'est la première fois que j'écoute les Smiths, je n'ai aucun point de comparaison, je ne peux pas juger en fonction de la place que cet album prend dans leur discographie, il semblerait qu'il soit parfois un peu boudé pour être l'album où le groupe exprime le moins sa personnalité. Je suis donc curieux d'en entendre plus de ce groupe. Parce que cet album avait des instrumentations plutôt riches, j'ai trouvé qu'il y avait beaucoup de passion et d'émotions. C'était à la fois travaillé et très accessible, un bon équilibre, pas toujours facile à atteindre. Donc je suis content de mon écoute. PS : d'après l'avis le mieux noté de quelqu'un qui déteste le groupe, il reste encore deux autres albums. Lui, il les a eu dans les 300 premiers. Moi je n'en suis qu'au premier et je suis pas fâché d'en avoir deux autres. PPS : ah, heu apparemment, un certain Morrissey, membre du groupe, a 4 albums solos dans la liste. 4 ! Robert, bon Dieu, arrête de blinder ta liste avec des artistes de seconde zone. Quand je pense qu'on aurait pu faire de la place à du Bathory ou à du Death et au lieu de ça, on a 6 albums d'Elvis Costello !

very good album

Damn, it turns out I like The Smiths. Morrissey is still a rocket though.

All the Smiths albums kinda blend together after you hear 3 of them

Reviews from the office: Matt - I think it's sick but it's not like a proper album tho is it. Bangers tho. Regan - Bit too short. I was left wanting more.

2.5/5. My sincerest apologies, but outside of the Queen is Dead I just don’t care for much of anything smiths or Morrissey related. I respect their place in music history and the sheer scale of their influence, but I have never really clicked with them musically nor have I ever particularly liked Morrissey as a vocalist. That being said I did at least like “stop me if you think you’ve heard this one before.”

Probably the least douchiest of all the Smith albums we’ve had.

I can never narrow down exactly what it is, but I don’t care for Morrissey. You can hear his arrogance in his singing and I get the feeling that he thinks he’s above everyone else in the room. The music is decent but Morrissey puts me off regularly through the listen.

Another middling album from The Smiths, highlighted by Marr’s intricate guitar work. Morrissey whines his way through fun and creative lyrics (fuck Morrissey btw), but still gives off too much matinee idol and not enough actual hero here. There is lots of irony and tongue in cheek in the writing, which foreshadows some of his forthcoming solo work, where he really finds his stride as a lyricist. Strangeways features mostly solid songs, it’s a good listen overall, with Girlfriend in a Coma being one of my favorite Smiths songs of all time.

Saved the best for last, not as terrible as the other Smith albums on the list. Some upbeat songs mixed into the track list was a welcome break from their typical dour tone. Feels like they were on the verge of finding joy in their music, so naturally they nipped that in the bud and broke up before they produced anything enjoyable. But they ended on high note giving us 2 or 3 good songs on their final offering.

I've always thought the Smiths were booring and depressing and so have never consciously listened to any album of theirs or had them on my Spotify play list. But I was pleasantly surprised by this album and will come back to it again. It's good to have your preconceptions challenged like this!

Bop

What a grower! I love it more with each listen, now I think it's my second favorite Smiths album.

Unfortunately I do, in general, like The Smiths. I don't find that this album is particularly special. Shame Steven 'For Britain' Morrissey has spent the last 20yrs dragging their legacy through the shit and mud..

I really enjoyed about the first half of this album. I don't love Morrissey's voice but I found the music to be varied and engaging. It seemed to lose steam later in the album for me. I'm glad I heard this but don't think it's something I'm going to return to much. I still don't get why Morrissey is great enough that 3 Smiths albums and 4 Morrissey albums make this list.

It's nice, but lacks a bit of punch? A bit disjointed, not a lot of hits.

Wow.. that was terrible. the unhappy birthday? Just seems like a whiny kid that didn't get his way and wanted to sing. I do not think I would get along with this guy at a party.

3.4 again. Again, good for the 80s… but nothing I’m going to go back to often.

Is it just me or did every song sound the same? I’m out of step with the bulk of reviews here, but I found this boring. That said, it wasn’t annoying or anything. Just didn’t grab me. 4/10 Acceptable

After getting Songs of Leonard Cohen yesterday this just sounds goofy...

Strangeways, Here We Come is The Smiths ending at the exact moment they were becoming more interesting. The guitar-pop foundation is still there, but Marr is increasingly interested in atmosphere, texture and unusual arrangements. Morrissey remains sarcastic and melodramatic, but there’s more vulnerability beneath the persona. And then there are the songs. “Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before” is brilliant pop songwriting. “Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me” is devastating. “Paint a Vulgar Picture” is one of their sharpest pieces of social commentary. And “I Won’t Share You” is an unexpectedly beautiful farewell. The weaker tracks prevent absolute perfection, but the album’s peaks are extraordinary.

Solid 3.5, maybe 4.0/5.0; I think I’m a Smiths fan.

The Smiths are a band I can listen to on endless repeat but somehow I don’t love this album enough to give it a five

he Smiths' final album is their most diverse, and nearly their best. Their typical jangle pop is made lush and detailed with small additions, like the haunting intro and backing marimba of the opening track. "Stop Me" is their most danceable, almost new wave song. And there's a lot of slower songs as well like "Death of a Disco Dancer" and "Last Nite I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me." An energetic band slowing down their material is not usually a recipe for success, but Morrissey's dramatic lyrics make for the perfect backing. "Girlfriend in a Coma" shows off the band's humor well, and "Paint a Vulgar Picture" is a cutting takedown of the music industry. The last two tracks are a bit disposable, but what comes before them is some of the best material the band ever recorded.

02/10/2026 I did not think I would ever get into The Smiths, but here I am, a guilty pleasure. Spotify listeners: 24.7 million

Awful not my thing

His voice his so whiny but damn the instrumentation is some of my fav - 3.4

I’m vibing it’s good music to listen to while working but nothing life changing

Morrissey is a guy wearing a scarf and a dumb hat in an eighties movie. Take that how you will. I didn't love or hate this. It was my first Smiths/Morrissey record though, and apparently there are a few to get through. I can see myself getting fed up. But not yet.

Really hard to get into this, I see why they were so loved but they just seem a bit bland to me without any memorable tracks on this album. Plus now we all know that Morrissey is a prick. 2/5

Still a very good album, in my opinion not as strong as other The Smiths albums. Low 4* 4/5

They did a lot of tried, impressive, I want to mimic them so bad , 4

Not sure what to say about this one. It was fine? Didn't hate it, didn't necessarily like it, so seemingly average? Certainly no takeaways.

Not bad but felt more like background music. It got boring and nver held my attention. Best Tracks: Death of a Disco Dancer, Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me

Made me a Smiths fan?