ABSENCE makes the heart grow fonder - or the mind more cynical. As you may well suspect, vulturine naysayers are all too ready to pounce on the self-exiled Morrissey, whereas fans embrace wholeheartedly the return of the Quiffed One.

Either way, You Are The Quarry is a case of too much, and too little.
Back home in Britain, the long-time Los Angeles resident has been receiving some of the most savage reviews, as well as the most rapturous. What gives? To this pair of ears, the CD does not throw up any sonic surprises but it's far from being a dismal effort.

For better or worse, this is a much-lauded genius who refuses to change for the sake of changing. That is the album's blessing, as well as undoing. The opener does not help. America Is Not The World, predictably, isn't Bush-friendly. Unfortunately, it has little to add to the dissenters' cause too - even if there's palpable love for the US of A that underscores his derision.

Thankfully, good ol' faith is restored in the rest of the album. Seven years' absence has not diminished his sagacity. In songs like The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores and All The Lazy Dykes, he flaunts his Englishness with a kind of healthy scepticism that enhances his Romanticism rather than undercuts it. His voice - velvety and aching still - invokes longing, lust and intelligence. It's a heady brew that elevates such lovelies as First Of The Gang and Let Me Kiss You to instant pop brilliance.