I think maybe he started that way and gradually retreated into actual recession? One of the big influences on early/Smiths-era Morrissey are singers who were big in the interregnum between rock'n'roll and the Beatles - British Elvis imitators like Tommy Steele and (especially) yodelling novelties like Frank Ifield. So he's positioning himself as away from rock, unable to tap into the sexuality and authentic self-expression of bluesiness: in effect he's pulling the recessiveness trick on rock 'technique' as it had evolved. But he's not a shy or non-aggressive singer.