THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN | PSYCHOCANDY
Guitar feedback and noise never felt so satisfying as on The Jesus And Mary Chain’s debut album. A landmark recording for 1985, it’s pop melody and noisy guitar work created the influence for creating the future movements of shoegaze and alternative rock from a band who struck uncool and boring poses refusing to look engaged.
Influenced by bands like The Shangri-Las, The Stooges, and Phil Spector, the band created a mess of washy noise and static that drenches the listener in volcanic prickly lushness. Thanks to the bands discovery of high amplifier volume, harmonic distortion created the wall of sound the band would use to paint their sonic portraits. Bobby Gillespie originally set the too cool for school pace using just a floor tom and snare while standing (he later left the band to join Primal Scream). Bassist Dougall Heart played with only two bass strings helping to keep things rooted in too-stoned-to-care earnestness. There’s trebly echo and reverb sprawled across the recordings which actually darken and expand the dreaminess, diving the music into abyssal realms.
“Just Like Honey” stands as one of the greatest compositions of all time, sexy, fuzzy, and melancholic all at once. It’s a timeless piece that transcends genres and styles boasting a depressive take on romance. The album unfolds immediately into more abrasive territory as “The Living End” and “Taste The Floor” bleed like open wounds in thin fuzzed out bursts of noise. Creation Records signed the band on first sight, turned on by their spiky attitude and the walls of white noise that obscured their Phil Spector pop.
It’s hard to deny Lou Reed’s influence on tracks like “The Hardest Walk”, while “Cut Dead” is completely rooted in 1950’s nostalgia, just processed into massive overdrive. The magic of Psychocandy lies in its sweet underbelly which churns the heart in a blender with static. While the guitars might get sinister, the melodies are as simplistic and classically accessible. “Never Understand” is both Ramones and Suicide blended with churning agitated guitar nausea.
“Inside Me” begins with a Joy Division-based bass line exploding into shrillness few bands had been capable of conjuring up. The frothy waves of guitar would inspire acts like My Bloody Valentine, but remains more cutting edge considering the year of it’s release in 1985, when Lionel Richie and Phil Collins were dominating the charts. The cold and stark vocal sound of the album can be seen inspiring future acts from INXS to Cold Cave. “Sowing Seeds” brings the same “Be My Baby / Just Like Honey” beat to a sweet reprise. Anyone who wondered what The Ronettes would sound like splashed and bathed in static had their answer.
In its aftermath, bands like A Place To Bury Strangers, The Raveonettes, Glassvegas, The Pixies, and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club would later scoop up the abrasive pop fuzz to almost exact replication, an amazing tribute to the pioneering of an entire genre. Psychocandy plays out as larger than life, biting and caustic while remaining mysterious, cool, and exuberant. It fractures the speakers with its density while still somehow remaining light and airy. It’s influence on the annals of rock history cannot be denied.
The cherry vodka and strawberry syrup represent the sugary heart of the music while the watermelon sour plays on the acidic biting tones of the guitar. The candy embellishments solidify the sweet chewy centre of Psychocandy’s emotion.
