A big year lies ahead for The Jesus And Mary Chain. To commemorate their 40th anniversary, the Reid brothers (William and Jim) are releasing a documentary, a book and are (at the time of writing) about to embark on a celebratory tour.
However, nostalgia sits ill with the East Kilbride duo, and so eighth album ‘Glasgow Eyes’ seems a more fitting acknowledgement of four decades in music, taking the best elements of their catalogue while also adding a frisson of new ideas.
That said, in Jim’s own words, don’t expect ‘The Jesus And Mary Chain go jazz’ (even if the spectre of Miles Davis can be felt); opener ‘Venal Joy’ is sweaty, motorik electro, still raucous but with a touch of femininity as provided by Rezillos’ Fay Fife on backing duties. Elsewhere, ‘Silver Strings’ is built around a simple but smacked-out, full-of-dread motif that would be befit a David Lynch movie.
Channelling Mogwai (fittingly as the album was recorded at their studio), ‘Poor Pun’ is a gnarly, ponderous stomp with feedback and reverb to spare, while ‘Chemical Animal’ fizzes and pulses as Jim analyses his own addictive past (“I fill myself with chemicals to hide the dark shit I don’t show”). ‘Discotheque’ is unlikely get anyone moving; a slinky, icy trawl through the dank corners of its title, while the squashed synths on ‘American Born’ takes a Middle-America tune and churns it through the Mary Chain blender, complete with snotty vocals from Jim.
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The bleakness does get wearing, but the album also comes with moments of welcome levity. First single ‘jamcod’ drips with sarcasm as it details their original onstage break-up in 1998 (‘Best notify the other brother there’s no place to go,’) against a metallic beat which, being classic Mary Chain, sounds paradoxically like they are enjoying themselves.
Best of all is The Eagles and The Beatles. Pilfering the riff from Joan Jett & The Blackhearts’ ‘I Love Rock And Roll’ (another reference to the Reid’s brothers’ past – keep up at the back!), it’s a piece of shoegaze glam with knowingly ridiculous lyrics (“I’ve been rolling with the Stones, Mick, and Keith and Brian Jones, Andrew Oldham’s on the phone”) which just stays the right side of parody and seem to crystalise Jim’s recent statement: “Fuck the party. We’re the party.” Likewise tribute track ‘Hey Lou Reed,’ which – across its six minutes – moves through a variety of tempos without compromising the feedback.
Uncompromising and unconventional, ‘Glasgow Eyes’ sit comfortably in The Jesus and Mary Chain canon.
7/10
Words: Richard Bowes
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