Johnny Marr and The Healers Boomslang

AFTER 16 years of prostituting his talents to the likes of The Pretenders, Bryan Ferry, and Beck, guitar legend Johnny Marr, and his new band, The Healers, release their debut album, Boomslang.

It is the first solo material Marr has produced since he disbanded The Smiths, in 1987.

Obvious comparisons will be drawn to his former band and the high standards he set.

So what is it like?

Is there a blisteringly-impassioned blend of majestic vocals, infectious guitars, moody and seductive atmospherics with vivid image-inducing wordplay and razor sharp hooks?

Do the lyrics resemble the sexually-charged "Why pamper life's complexities when the leather runs smooth on the passenger seat" of This Charming Man, or the tragic "I am the son and the heir, of shyness that is criminally vulgar" of How Soon is Now?

No, not really. Marr's lyrics are disappointing and the album's downfall.

But on the whole, the album, which features Zak Starkey (son of Ringo) on drums and former Kula Shaker bass player, Alonsa Bevan is good.

Caught Up, a gliding, fuzzy jangle, Down on the Corner, which bounces and riffs, and Need It, with its unmistakable harmonica flashing intro and typically Smiths' sliding rhythm guitars, are particularly refreshing.

Even Marr's ballad, Something to Shout About, has all the right levels of pathos and melancholy.

Okay, his voice is not as emotive as say Coldplay's Chris Martin or Radiohead's Thom York, but whose is?

In southern Africa, Boomslang, is a venomous snake. Does the album live up to its name? Well, it definitely bites more than it hisses.