The Jesus and Mary Chain have been a staple of the shoegaze/noise-pop community for 40 years, releasing their debut Psychocandy in 1985. Blurry, fuzzy, and noisy, Psychocandy was unlike anything else out at the time. The next album to make such a sonic statement was My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless six years later. Though brothers William and Jim Reid loved to make a racket, they were also brilliant songwriters and loved a good pop hook. “So Like Candy” was the DNA for countless other bands that towed the line between Tinnitus-inducing ear ringing and dreamy melodicism.
Not only was their music bombastic and emotional, so was their lives off stage. As brothers they kept the sibling rivalry and butting heads thing front and center, often fighting on stage or working in the studio. After an on stage fight in 1998 at the House Of Blues William left the stage and tour, with the band crumbling just a year later. But with most families, there is that moment of admitting mistakes were made and feelings hurt. In 2007 the brothers’ Reid reunited for an All Tomorrow’s Parties show. It took ten years but the JAMC finally released a follow up to 1998s Munki in 2017s Damage and Joy. And now we have Glasgow Eyes, the first JAMC record in 7 years. No new sonic land discovered, but it’s a solid album for a band 40 years into their career.
Jesus and Mary Chain are no strangers to the world of synthesizers and electronic music, as albums Darklands and Automatic proved. But on Glasgow Eyes they fully commit to that light industrial sound without losing what made their sound so endearing. “Venal Joy” is a driving electro rocker with William Reid’s vocals sounding like a long lost friend’s voice hitting your ears. “Mediterranean X Film” starts out more like The Cure, locking into that early 80s college rock sound. A little minor key, a little melancholy.
“Pure Poor” captures some of that fuzzed-out magic of Psychocandy while not aping what came before. “The Eagles and the Beatles” is a fun track that somehow sounds like both PiL and Joan Jett, but much better than you think that would sound(trust me.) Closer “Hey Lou Reid” indeed sounds a touch like Velvet Underground, but with a sunnier disposition and a bit of Wreckless Eric thrown in for good measure.
Not a lot of bands can turn out a late career album like Glasgow Eyes, but The Jesus and Mary Chain aren’t just any band. The Brothers’ Reid continue to refine their sound, even nearly 40 years after their debut.
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