For those who are driven into recurring bouts of disappointment and misery because onetime titan of melancholy pop Morrissey now devotes his energy to finding novel ways to demonstrate he’s a wanker, I would like to remind you that Johnny Marr is out there making music that can provide what you really want: an echo of the past glory of the Smiths. Even better, Marr is less interested than his former bandmate in retreading familiar ground. There’s a tonal familiarity to the guitar flow in Marr’s new single, “Spirit, Power and Soul,” especially the first time it chimes in. Even so, it’s no mere nostalgia play. Marr dubs his new sound electro soul, and that’s about right. It suggests the peak grooves of Edwyn Collins airlifted to our current time and place. In more ways than one, Marr declares he’s the former Smith who’s not mired in the past.

Marr’s new EP Fever Dreams Pt 1 is scheduled for release in October. It serves as the precursor and first installment to the double album Fever Dreams Pts 1-4.