Johnny Marr has another message for those with questionable perspectives. The former Smiths guitarist has released “It’s Time,” the latest preview of his forthcoming fifth solo album, The Age of Everything, due Oct. 2 via BMG. The song is accompanied with a live-shot video filmed during Marr’s biggest solo headline show to date, a sold-out homecoming performance in July at Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl.
“It’s Time” is a widescreen, guitar-driven protest song that Marr says is ultimately about resisting the temptation toward cynicism. “[It’s] my way of singing about some worldly issues but finding defiance, in idealism,” he said. “I wanted a lyric that matched the exuberance of the music but is actually about resisting cynicism and corruption: ‘Everybody ain’t making it, change the weather and breaking it. Mobilize to know the truth. Open eyes to know the truth.’ I guess it’s about the assholes with dodgy views.”
The track premiered on BBC Radio 2’s Breakfast Show and follows previously released songs “Spin” and “Ophelia.” The 10 cuts on The Age of Everything were written in London, developed on the road across North America and recorded in Manchester.
For “It’s Time,” the Castlefield Bowl footage captures Marr in front of a hometown crowd during a set that mixed classics such as “How Soon Is Now?,” “The Headmaster Ritual” and “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” with a substantial preview of then-unreleased material.
The album is just one piece of a particularly Marr-heavy fall. Ahead of its release, Christie’s in London will on Sept. 17 host Marr’s Guitars: The Johnny Marr Collection, featuring approximately 80 guitars integral to the guitarist’s career. Then, on Oct. 22, Thames & Hudson will publish an expanded 10th-anniversary edition of Marr’s autobiography, Set the Boy Free. The new edition includes previously unseen archival photographs, a new introduction, a personal eulogy for late Smiths bassist Andy Rourke and a foreword from Oasis’ Noel Gallagher.