STACK #149 Mar 2017

REVIEWS MUSIC

THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN The most unexpected thing about The Jesus and Mary Chain's debut album was that they made it at all.When they first started playing, their sets barely broke the double-figures minute mark. In part that was because they'd sometimes take the stage claiming to be the support band, and get on and off before anyone twigged. But albums they did make; half a dozen between the mid '80s and late '90s, and now comes Damage and Joy this month, their first in 18 years. So how to buy JAMC?

Various T2 Trainspotting: OST The Bodyguard may be the biggest selling soundtrack of all time, but the original Trainspotting OST is arguably the coolest, an inspired blend of iconic faves (Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Brian Eno) and Cool Britannia (Blur, Pulp, Leftfield). The soundtrack to the belated sequel wisely follows a similar template and even tips its hat to the original by book-ending the album

with two reworked songs from the first movie: a brutish Prodigy remix of Iggy’s Lust For Life opens proceedings, while Underworld bring the record to a close with a steely retuning of their anthem Born Slippy . The British dance veterans also provide the album’s most moving moment, Eventually But , which features one of the film’s stars Ewen Bremner (Spud). Of the newer artists, there are previously unreleased tracks from High Contrast – the sardonic electro glam of Shotgun Mouthwash is one of the album's highlights – and Young Fathers ( Only God Knows ), plus spiky contributions fromWolf Alice and Fat White Family. Could have done without Queen and Jason Nevins, but you can never go wrong with The Clash – represented here by White Man (In Hammersmith Palais) – while Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Relax and Blondie’s Dreaming sound as vital and thrilling as ever. Let's just hope the movie is as good. (Universal) John Ferguson

Psychocandy (1983) The impressive debut (with Bobby Gillespie, later of Primal Scream, on drums) wherein Scotland's Reid brothers Jim and William introduced their brand of loud, discordant, feedback-infused guitars to classic pop structures. They drew as much fromThe Beach Boys

and Phil Spector's girl groups as the Velvet Underground. UK shoegaze was invented here, and so was the sound of JAMC… which they would subsequently refine. Darklands (1987)

Here the melodies went up many notches (the soaring Happy When It Rains ), searing guitars occasionally came down (the title track), and a tastefully-used drum machine came in after Gillespie's departure. Influences were more from Lou Reed's VU and solo ballads ( Deep One Perfect

Morning , Nine Million Rainy Days ), but behind the indie rock bluster JAMC were essentially a dark power pop-rock band ( April Skies ). Critics were unimpressed but they were wrong: Darklands is essential if you enjoy shameless, fist-pumping indie rock. Honey's Dead (1992)

Steel Panther Lower The Bar Devout acolytes of Van Halen, Mötley Crüe, and the rest of the Sunset Strip illuminati, Steel Panther isn’t parody so much as pantomime – a loving, spectacular homage to an era they’d make a deal at the crossroads to resurrect. There are plenty of reasons to be glad it’s over, but the libidinal licks and sprawling solos on Lower The Bar aren’t any of them. Anyone trying to kickstart their heart in recent years had to choose between watered down, on-the-nose joke bands, but Steel Panther are sincere – one gets the sense they're probably doing tequila shots in Beverly Hills jacuzzis on the reg. Lower The Bar is a throbbing 11-track run through relationship turmoil, alcohol abuse and steamrolling over anyone threatening to kill the party. In these

Mastodon Emperor Of Sand The Mastodon of today is not the band that once enthralled the scene with weighty tomes such as Remission and Leviathan . They are now more rock than metal. Emperor Of Sand supports this observation, with cuts such as ShowYourself and Precious Stones taking the Mastodon sound into territories reserved for classic rock bands. All is not lost, as the group can still lay down some meaty numbers: Andromeda , Sultan’s Curse and the progressive vibes of Roots Remain , as well as the album highlight Jaguar God , offer some solid heaviness that may not get heads banging, but at the very least, will get them nodding. (Warner) Simon Lukic

Critics were right to dismiss third album Automatic (1989) which might have been retitled Autopilot , even if fans loved it and Americans finally got it. The Yanks might have recoiled at the opener on this next album. Reverence offers “I wanna die like Jesus Christ,” and the album

divided critics and loyalists. Yes, the whispered menace and feedback returned, but at its best this slewed straight into screamadelic grunge. However it was great fun… and that was a rare commodity at the time. It stands up. The Power of Negative Thinking; B-Sides and Rarities (2008) Alphabet Street ?) alongside acoustic demos of their classic singles, B-sides not on albums, and so much more. In fact, you could start here and work back. And also... You can score the first five JAMC studio albums at JB Hi-Fi in the budget-priced Rhino Original Album Series, which includes all the first three above, plus Stoned and Dethroned from 1994 (with guests Shane MacGowan of the Pogues and Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star). Shoegaze sometimes but, given the right ingredients, JAMC were always skygaze too. Words Graham Reid In this four-CD set, sources are displayed on the covers (Bo Diddley, The Beach Boys, Motown, Howling Wolf, Elvis); it's comprised of unexpected oddities (Prince's

nihilistic times, why not? (Kobalt) Jake Cleland

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