Their debut album had the brutal title “Psychocandy”, they played with their backs to the audience, guitar feedback replaced melodies, after 20 minutes they had torn the stage apart, and today, 40 years later, Jim Reid just says: “We did that, they did too even worse things because we were…shy. Taking drugs was the excuse for acting fucked up.” But: “We were sober in the studio! At least the first ten years.”
Cleverly controlled noise, accompanied by Sixties beats from the Ronettes, is how The Jesus and Mary Chain shaped the rock underground known as “indie” from 1984 onwards. The Scottish black skinny jeans with the teased gothic hairstyles were really considered the mega fuck ups. It was not believed that they would make it into the 1990s. Now Jim and his brother William Reid are celebrating their 40th anniversary as a band, releasing their eighth album, Glasgow Eyes, and their memoirs later this year. They dictated their clouded memories to a journalist in the block.
So the shitty duo has become a legacy act. Jim laughs, but he doesn’t deny being a proud legacy bearer. In two new songs he references his own intellectual property: “Jamcod”, i.e. “Jamc Overdose”, “Overdose Jesus and Mary Chain”, a memory of the brotherly feud that led to the preliminary split in 1999. In “Second of June” he even sings out the band name. What would be an expression of ostentation in Guns N’ Roses is a cool number in JAMC. Additionally, through Jim’s pronunciation in the song, we finally learn that the emphasis is not on “The,” “Jesus,” or “Chain,” but rather “Mary.” “I don’t care about emphasis,” he says. “But we are not: The Jesus and THE Mary Chain! Anyone who comes to me like that, and it happens often, will get in trouble – and isn’t a real fan either!”
Songs from The Jesus and Mary Chain often sound the same, the privilege of a band that has created a trademark sound. They share that with AC/DC and the Ramones. On the other hand, the Reid brothers record their love for role models transparently, naming pieces “Hey Lou Reid!” (sic!) and “The Eagles and The Beatles”. This speaks of generosity. “A lot of bands try to disguise their influences,” says Jim. “They are afraid of demystifying themselves. It doesn’t bother me if someone says we’re a Velvet Underground pastiche.” But what would THE Eagles say to their two super fans?
Recording “Glasgow Eyes” was more challenging than that of their 2017 comeback album “Damage and Joy,” their first work in 19 years. Half of them consisted – which her label did not communicate – of songs that had already been released on solo albums. The new twelve songs, on the other hand, were all created together in the studio.
The most successful are the cynical pieces about the USA, her favorite topic since “Munki” from 1998. “The Velvet Underground America is dead,” says Jim. “From the primal scream of rock and roll in 1954 to the 1990s, the States were a cultural beacon for us. Now there is Trump, previously Bush. And the people? Guys in shorts and baseball caps, all singing the wrong songs.” A very simplified verdict, but it’s also simple ideas that give punk strength. In “American Born,” William sings, “I live like Americans, I talk like Americans,” and his intonation alone lends disgust to these harmless words. The disappointment in the USA dates back to 1994, when JAMC released the blues-folk album “Stoned and Dethroned” and put on cowboy hats. Your best album – and a flop. “We were marginalized. No longer fit the times. Britpop became big. Back then, no one expected Brits to make introspective records. Blur sang about ‘a big house in the country’ – and we just sang about country.”
But the young wild ones didn’t become old Grantlers. Jim Reid is 62 and his relationship with his brother, who is three years older, is now fully stable. There will no longer be a separation with long-term silence. Both have also been clean for many years. “If someone had told me 40 years ago that I would still be making music, I would have fallen out of my chair laughing,” says Jim. He has drawn up two over-60 rules for himself. “Firstly: no live comeback if you haven’t recorded a new record. Secondly, more importantly: Songs are not allowed to be a piece of shit.”