Yes, the title track of Meat Is Murder is really stupid and just a shortsighted version of “How Soon Is Now?” (which is even on the American version of this album), but pound for pound, I consider this the best Smiths album after The Queen Is Dead—no question.

Lyrically, Morrissey trades in some of his trademark misery (which I love, don’t get me wrong) for wit, and he would continue to do so more and more with each successive album. It makes Meat Is Murder and The Queen Is Dead easier listens than The Smiths. Meat Is Murder features more emotional range than its predecessor, as well as greater dynamics as The Smiths include more uptempo numbers to balance out the plodding, slower songs, better pacing the album.

Hooks abound on every song, and there aren’t any songs that are carried solely by Morrissey’s vocal melody, like you’d occasionally find on the debut. Morrissey’s falsetto on “Well I Wonder” is particularly gorgeous and keeps me coming back to it. Clocks in at two-minutes shorter than said debut as well; even shorter if you skip the title track after the first time you hear it, which you probably will. Insensibly underrated relative to the rest of the Smiths discography, likely entirely because of the title, its track, and its sentiment.