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

Album Reviews

When The Jesus and Mary Chain unleashed Psycho Candy in 1986, the debate raged over whether they were noise-rock revolutionaries or bubblegum starlets in punk drag. But now that nobody cares about the band's credibility anymore, the Chain are free to settle into their niche with yet another album of mechanical glam-punk flash, recycling the same three or four chord changes they've been churning out since Psycho Candy. The brothers Jim and William Reid know exactly what they're good at, and there's no particular reason they couldn't keep doing this for another fourteen years. Munki offers no emotional or intellectual content, just great tunes full of sexy, sarcastic deadpan shtick. The Reids begin the album with "I Love Rock'n'Roll," end it with "I Hate Rock'n'Roll" and somehow convince you they're lying in both songs.

The highlight of Munki comes when the Reids bring in their sister Linda to sing "Mo Tucker," a smashing tribute to the Velvet Underground's drummer. Linda Reid manages to sound even more bored than her brothers, which is part of the fun. Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval drops by to moan on the psychedelic slow dance "Perfume." Elsewhere, the Reids quote lots of pop-culture icons, rev up their slick guitar hooks and make mock-prophetic proclamations ("Liberate my mind/It's penetration time") that probably impress groupies but just make the rest of us laugh. Even when their lyrics actually seem thoughtful ("Everybody hates a president/Everybody loves a queen"), you know it's only an accident. "Birthday," "Supertramp" and "I Can't Find the Time for Times" all rank among the Chain's kickiest creations. And, needless to say, they all sound pretty much the same.