The Jesus and Mary Chain
When The Jesus and Mary Chain came on the scene in 1983, they could hardly play their instruments and relied on earsplitting volumes to mask it. Singer Jim Reid has often admitted to being drunk before taking the stage to compensate for a lack of musical aptitude and his shyness. The songs are simplistic, rooted in classic ‘60s pop rock, but played with a wash of noise inspired by the Stooges and the Velvet Underground. JAMC tore a hole into the synth-crutched zeitgeist of the mid-80s.
After a series of notable UK singles and legendary live shows that inspired audiences to break into fights, the band released its debut album on a major label, the Warner Bros. subsidiary Blanco y Negro Records. Since its 1985 release, Psychocandy has become a revered record over the years. It’s been often cited as a touchstone for such ‘90s alt-rock subgenres like dream pop and shoegaze.
Like a symphony of buzzsaws grinding away at once, the electric guitar driven din of JAMC is hypnotic and challenging at once. But it can also be gorgeous. There’s something magical in the noise and feedback that creates the mystical musical mirage related to psychoacoustics, where the listener might notice melodies that are not even there.
Part of what made this record so ballsy was the bold, dreamy opener, “Just Like Honey.” The sharply reverbing guitars by brothers Jim and William Reid, the languorous drum beat played on a tom and snare cribbed from the Velvet Underground’s Moe Tucker and Jim Reid’s lethargic, breathy voice singing wistfully about idealizing a young woman he can never approach.
It’s a good thing JAMC are saving this momentous track for the climax, as the band has decided to play the entire album for its 30th anniversary, preceded by several of its hits from the rest of its five album catalog. Though they have not released an album since 1998, the band’s legend offers plenty to make it worth the ticket to its only Florida show, way down in Miami, on this historic tour… but don’t forget your earplugs.
Poplife presents The Jesus and Mary Chain at Olympia Theater at Gusman Center (www.olympiatheater.org), Oct. 2, at 8pm. DJ Mikey Ramirez will set the stage with appropriate sounds.
~ Hans Morgenstern | The Independent Ethos (indieethos.wordpress.com)
