There’s more to come from Jesus and Mary Chain
THEY arrived with a squeal of feedback in the 80s as the new Sex Pistols and The Jesus and Mary Chain are still Scotland’s most exciting band.
The East Kilbride brothers Jim and William Reid have weathered accusations of hype, brotherly hate and chart indifference but are back, headlining tonight’s opening day of the 6Music Festival in Glasgow at the Barrowland.
Today also sees the release of their first new album for 19 years, Damage and Joy.
Frontman Jim, 55, said: “If this record goes down well, I think we’ll make another one. It wasn’t as painful to make it as we thought it would be.
“I’d really like to do more albums, maybe make something more experimental next time.
“There’s definitely more to come from The Jesus and Mary Chain though. We’re both up for it, so we’ll see what happens.”
They’ve always had one of the most volatile relationships in music but the brothers have found common ground to continue as a band.
Jim said: “Our relationship is pretty good at the moment. We don’t always get on but there was a kind of a bonding making this record for various reasons. “One of which, although we never actually said it, was we realised that if we messed up the recording of this album now, it would be a shot in the foot.
“We needed to get this right and we wouldn’t have if we just spent all the time bickering.”
Damage and Joy is their seventh studio album and the first since 1998’s Munki, which witnessed the brothers’ working relationship implode.
It took until 2007 for them to reunite, playing America’s Coachella, where actress Scarlett Johansson joined them on stage for Just Like Honey.
Jim said: “I got to the point when I decided we were going to either have to tell people there was no record or we would have to just get on and make one. I sat down with William and said ‘Now’s the time. Let’s do it.’”
The album features a fair few tracks that will be familiar to fans as they are reworked versions of songs previously released by either Jim as a solo artist or as part of his sister Linda’s Sister Vanilla project.
It was recorded at producer Youth’s remote studio in Spain. He also played bass along with Lush’s Phil King and the Mary Chain’s drummer Brian Young.
There are guest vocals from Sky Ferreira and Isobel Campbell that Jim feels adds depth and colour to the Mary Chain’s distinctive sonic assault.
He said: “Sky came to see us a couple of years ago in America and it turned out she was a big Mary Chain fan. We were looking for vocalists to do duets with and we’re asking people we knew like Alan McGee if they knew anyone. Bobby Gillespie suggested Sky.
“We’ve got Isobel Campbell, we’ve got my wee sister, we’ve got William’s girlfriend Bernadette Denning too.”
The position the band find themselves in now is a million miles away from the intensity of their early days, with their rise characterised with riots at their gigs and false accusations of being all hype and no substance.
Jim still looks back on it with a sense of bewilderment.
He said: “It all went from nothing to everything within a matter of weeks. There was no time to get our act together.
“It was such a rapid climb. It meant that it felt like everybody was ready to stick the boot in on the way down, which is exactly what happened.”
Their 1985 debut Psychocandy was glorious and was listed as NME’s best album of that year.
Jim said: “Psychocandy wasn’t just made for 1985, it was made for 1995, 2005 and 2015.”
Hopefully now the brothers are older they will continue to make their twisted rock.
Jim said: “We enjoyed making the album and I’m sure some little misfits will enjoy hearing it.” ●The Jesus and Mary Chain play the 6Music Festival at Glasgow Barrowland tonight. Tickets are sold out. The duo’s new album Damage and Joy is out today.