601. The Jesus And Mary Chain - Darklands (1987)
















Track Listing

1. Darklands
2. Deep One Perfect Morning
3. Happy When It Rains
4. Down On Me
5. Nine Million Rainy Days
6. April Skies
7. Fall
8. Cherry Came Too
9. On The Wall
10. About You

Review

Psychocandy carried a lot of promise for tJaMC, it wasn't the best album around, it was too derivative of VU to be a true original, but I thought maturity would make them somewhat different. And they did get different, but they also seem to have lost what made them interesting.

The wall of sound and noise is gone, the whole thing moved to more run-of-the-mill alternative rock. There is nothing particularly wrong with this and the album ends up being perfectly inoffensive, which is also its problem. Still, some of the songs are quite good in their genre.

The problem with tJaMC is that they became a promise unfulfilled. They end up making a more accessible album by destroying what made them unique, it's a bit sad. Still, I liked this album on its own merits, but it's nothing that amazing.

Track Highlights

1. April Skies
2. Happy When It Rains
3. Darklands
4. Nine Million Rainy Days

Final Grade

8/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Unlike their previous album, drum machines were used in place of drummer Bobby Gillespie, who had left to pursue a successful career as the frontman with Primal Scream. The album marks a turning point in the band's music, going from the savage noise-pop of Psychocandy, to a more melodic Indie/Alternative rock sound.

Gillespie and Primal Scream later recorded a cover of the album's title track.

April Skies: