The Jesus and Mary Chain: Darklands : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

In its own way The Jesus and Mary Chain's second album is just as audacious as the band's controversial debut, Psychocandy. On the first album the Chain offered up melodic pop drenched in noise and feedback. Darklands, the impressive follow-up, reveals enviable conceptual mettle, as the group sets aside its characteristic Ramones-in-a-blender sound for spacious, echo-laden politesse. Jim and William Reid, the singing and guitar-playing brothers at the Scottish band's core, are still writing virulently downcast songs but have elected to proffer them with restraint, rather than in a wash of disorienting fuzz.

Featuring two incomparable gems from the brothers, "Happy When It Rains" and "April Skies" – loud, minimalist pop symphonies with irresistible hooks and unsettling lyrics – Darklands also reflects the Reids' diverse influences. "Cherry Came Too" gently raids the Beach Boys' "Surfin' Safari" for part of its melody; the slow surge of "On the Wall" invites Velvet Underground comparisons; and "Deep One Perfect Morning" suggests Blonde on Blonde-era Dylan.

Judging by the inclusion of one borderline-chaos piece, "Fall," the brainbusting din that made Psychocandy so incredible has not been banished forever. But in helping the band control its distortion habit, coproducer Bill Price gives the affecting material precedence over what was heretofore, to some, a distracting presentation. The paradox of simple tunes bathed in cacophony may have originally generated notoriety for the group; the strength of these enticing songs from the dark side is reason enough to stay excited.