Darklands

19 year old me's top 10 album to walk the dog and smoke a cigarette to

didoodidoodoo DOOOO

Music writers fall over themselves to overpraise Joy Division and New Order, yet rarely do I find anything to reassess the Jesus and Mary Chain (although Sofia Coppola using "Just Like Honey" came close to igniting a Jesus and Mary Chain Renaissance). This album fulfills all the promises those overrated bands suggested. It sounds like the first time you ever fell in love. Of course, I'm a sucker for harmonies and power pop so I'm probably just as guilty of hyperbole as those New Order backers. This is one of those albums that can vary between a 4 and a 5 rating for me. The title track alone is a piece of pure bubble gum pop perfection.

Do you remember the JAMC? Yes, yes I do.

Like… watching… paint… dry. Which may also be what the lads are doing on the cover. I’m trying real hard (and judging by the results, a lot harder than The Jesus And Mary Chain seemingly worked on 'Darklands') to find the right adjective here. ‘Dispassionate’ doesn’t work, for that implies strong emotion. ‘Disinterested,’ ‘impassive’ seems to work better. I read a book years ago written by Kathleen Norris in which she identified a condition called ‘acedia’ meaning a kind of spiritual or emotional sloth, apathy. I believe the Reid brothers, Jim and William, might be suffering from acedia. I mean, for God’s sake, they barely utilize a drum machine for much else than one droning beat, the only instrumental break was the very last song with a guitar solo that was literally four notes, and they sing with little or no fervor. Pat Boone comes across as Roger Daltrey in comparison. And if the music leads you to draw a bath of warm water, then the lyrics make you grab the razor blade and start your descent: ‘As sure as life means nothing and all things end in nothing… I want to go.’ ‘I have nothing left to give for you to take… there is nothing left of me.’ Here’s a particularly cheery one: ‘Everyone’s falling on me and I’m as dead as a Christmas tree.’ I take it he’s referring not to the beautifully adorned and twinkling lit ones in December, but the really super dead ones that are drug out to the curb with the rest of the trash in January. The best song on the entire LP was the last one, both because there was the tiniest glimmer of positivity in the lyrics, but mostly because it was the shortest one of the bunch. And boys, your LP must have infected me with a bit of your acedia, because I’m not even feeling any of the shock you desired when you named your band, The Jesus And Mary Chain.

This is one of those bands that sounds really cool and interesting on their own, but starts to become really significant when you think about all the other bands that employed a similar sound after them. You can hear so many other songs on this album, and yet I can't think of many examples of hearing similar sounds that came before this album. It's a truly iconic album that doesn't often get the respect that it deserves 5/5

The Jesus and Mary Chain feel like a real musical blind spot for me. I did a pretty deep dive into various Scottish indie bands in my late teens/early twenties (The Vaselines, Teenage Fanclub, Eugenius, Arab Strap, The Delgados, Belle and Sebastian, Mogwai, Prolapse, Magoo, Telstar Ponies etc. etc.) Somehow J.A.M.C. got missed off my list and now I feel like a fool. Loved this album and given it was released in 1987 I can see how they influenced a load of my favourite bands. Really liked it. Will now be digging into their back catalogue properly (and probably pretending I always liked them).

Part of me wonders why people are so quick to hype up Psychocandy as a total masterpiece when this follow-up is actually stronger in some areas. Less abrasive and groundbreaking, sure, but the production and song writing, especially on highlights like the title track, "April Skies," and "Only Happy When It Rains," are leagues above most of its predecessor.

With my last review, I found myself tackling dream pop via the Cocteau Twins' Heaven or Las Vegas. Now, who should turn up at the front door but the cousin of dream pop, noise pop? The distinction between the two isn't exact: both tend towards bubblegum melodies and walls of sound, with dream pop emphasising texture more and noise pop focusing on noise (funny that). So, more feedback and distortion, but both could open an Adam Curtis documentary on how the Biafran War directly led to TikTok. I expressed a mild guardedness for dream pop, as its style could slip into gimmickry with diminishing returns over the course of an album. Noise pop makes me similarly wary for similar reasons. It's nice to have a clear style, but a style is not a philosophy, and overexposure can reveal a scantiness to the substance. That said, I tend to prefer noise pop to dream pop: dreams are meaningless, noise is not. Darklands is the Jesus and Mary Chain's second album, and their second most acclaimed. Their debut album, Psychocandy, is now seen as one of the definitive albums of the eighties, especially in British indie circles. However, the two brothers behind the band, William and Jim Reid, had grown resentful of the rabid image the press had painted of them (the tabloids called them the new Sex Pistols due to the violence that tended to erupt at their gigs). Along with this, their drummer Bobby Gillespie left to pursue his own band Primal Scream, with the Jesus and Mary Chain employing a drum machine for this album. So, Darklands features much less of the guitar squeal of Psychocandy and, let me commit heresy, better-structured songs. I prefer the best songs on Darklands to the best songs on Psychocandy. You could argue that Psychocandy is meant to be treated as an album rather than a collection of songs, but I will point to my earlier criticism that an album of one noise can swiftly become wearying. Also, Darklands is less overtly record-collection rock, meaning you don't spend the entire album just ticking off references to the Velvet Underground (although you do spend some of it on that unimpressive activity). But anyway, whilst there are fantastic songs on Darklands, I wonder if it's momentous enough. Darklands is a fine album, but it just misses by a pubewidth in making me truly giddy. I don't feel my heart bursting when I listen to it, and that's surely the effect one desires. Maybe further listens will induce that full sense of bliss, but I have other things to do as well. Such as your mum.

A wonderful album. I love the sensitive nature running through the songs, masked by the macho rock 'n' roll posturing. It's the songs that win through, all delicate and in danger of breaking into tears at any moment. The black leather hides the emotions well.

I think the hardest albums to rate on this list are the ones you can appreciate and respect, but don’t feel any affection towards, no matter how many spins you give it. Darklands I like that for me. The Jesus and Mary Chain are a band I recall my high school girlfriend really loving. She was a goth in a sea of 2000s emo kids, and she got me into a lot of those classic goth bands, including The Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Still, I was always an emo kid first, so while I found something to love in a lot of the music she showed me, the post-punk spacey vibe was never for me. Even my favorite albums from The Cure are the ones that lean more pop-oriented. Of all those classic bands, though, the one I never understood was The Jesus and Mary Chain, though I think if I sat 16 year old me down today, she’d say it was mostly because they sounded dull. Listening to Darklands now, I think I basically have the same critique. There are certainly some good songs, especially the ones that feel more upbeat, more like college rock or alternative rock radio. “Happy When it Rains” and “April Skies” are both very good songs, and while still more goth-y, hit my emo kid heart in a spot that still works. In fact, I think I like the majority of this record. I’m pretty much all-in on Side A, minus “Nine Million Rainy Days,” which is too drone-y for me, and I do almost feel that way about “Deep One Perfect Morning.” Side B is a little spottier, but I think if it didn’t crawl to a halt on the last two-ish tracks, I’d be more of a fan. If I summed the parts, you’d think I like Darklands. And maybe I do, actually. It’s a short record, economical in more ways than one; I love how natural the drum machine sounds; I think there’s some great songs on here; it certainly made an impact. But when I pit it against all the other records I’ve heard so far, I realize I would rather just listen to most of them over this. And it’s purely because of the aesthetics, which just aren’t my preferred style. Again, there’s a lot of post-punk drone on this. It’s about half the record. So while I can say that it’s well done, I wouldn’t say it’s for me. I can like “Deep One Perfect Morning” and “Cherry Came Too,” yes, but if I’m not going to seek them out on the daily and can’t even hum the melody without playing the song, that feels telling to me. Do I honestly enjoy it, or am I just tolerating it while it’s on? The other half of the record, yes, it does work for me, but it’s always in a way that’s like, “Oh, yeah, I guess for a style of music I typically despise, this is pretty good!” Literally, if you took out the singles– “April Skies,” “Happy When It Rains,” and “Darklands”– I would have nothing else I’d gravitate toward, nothing that would get stuck in my head, nothing I’d want to listen to again. In fact, played front-to-back, I’d even argue that the songs start to blend together, and not in a way where it’s simply the band’s aesthetic, but where the songs literally sound like they’re using the same chord progressions. Darklands is just one of those records where I like it more when it’s on than I do after it’s finished. It doesn’t leave any mark on me. I know what it’s doing, and I think it’s doing it well, but it doesn’t sink its teeth into me. That’s strictly a me issue. That doesn’t make Darklands bad, it just means it’s not my vibe. I want to rate it higher, but I know it won’t grow on me, because I know what type of music I like, and it’s not this. Even among well-made albums ✨not for me✨, this ranks pretty low. I’m sure this album is for somebody. In fact, I once knew a somebody who it was for, 100%. But I am not that somebody. I get the appeal, but Darklands does not appeal to me personally.

There are no fillers here, just 10 shimmery, beautiful, danceable shoegaze pop songs. Perfection.

Just oozes with cool!!!

Darklands is packed full of big pop guitar hooks, and some familiar sounding melodies from Psycho Candy. The band relies less on the wall of sound from the previous album, but much more on what sounds like a drum machine here, sometimes to great effect. It's a very enjoyable listen, and interesting to hear where the Jesus and Mary Chain went after the reverb heavy Psycho Candy. Fav Tracks: Happy When It Rains, About You, April Skies Rating: 3.5/5

Absolutely nothing about this album stands out. The best I can say is that I didn’t need to shut it off, but that’s largely because it was almost not even there. An entirely skippable album.

Not good, lyrics are not really sensible or well thought-out and the music feels very repetitive very fast.

A good shoegaze album is still a snoregaze to listen to 😴

5 Due to travel and some time spent at home with the fam, this is probably the longest I’ve sat on a review since starting this list, but I’m kind of glad how that worked out, as it gave me the time to really dive into this album. I mean, I knew this was going to be something special even upon my first listen, but having this stuck as my current album enabled me to keep putting it on, at first just to keep it fresh on the mind, but ultimately because it’s just damn good. With every subsequent listen, I felt myself becoming more and more drawn to its sound and aura, and sitting here now, I have got to say, what started as a strong 4 for me is now slowly crawling into the territory of all-time favorites. The first thing noticeable upon listening to this album is how different this is from Psychocandy. The boys' songwriting abilities have grown quite a bit in just the two years, and with it, their sound went through a major glow-up. Now, normally I’m the epitome of the “their older stuff is better” music snob and hate when bands try to polish their defining sound, but I was totally sold on what they did with it here - rather than feeling sterilized, it genuinely feels more fleshed out, and what it lacks in flashiness, it makes up for with an immersive, moody atmosphere that’s as compelling as it is brooding. As much as I appreciated the feedback-driven sound of Psychocandy (especially on tracks like Just Like Honey - still probably their best song), I never really found myself missing it here. This album really succeeds in establishing its own identity while retaining every ounce of pop sensibility and edgy, “cool factor” as its predecessor. No track ever feels out of place or unwelcome, though I have to point to Darklands, Happy When It Rains, and April Skies as highlights and probably among the best of JAMC’s catalog. I’ve listened to this probably 10+ times now, and I don’t see myself stopping anytime soon. The vibe here is unlike anything I’ve heard anywhere else and manages to keep hitting harder and harder as I continue to listen. I’m not going to endorse any kind of substance abuse here, but if you’re going to do it anyway, this is the exact kind of thing to put on once you’ve found the perfect buzz - whatever your vice of choice may be.

In which the JAMC showed that under the pyros they had a sturdy songwriting chassis and (squabbling aside) were in it for the long haul. Flawless collection different from the amazing debut.

Pretty solid guitar rock/indie. Their choice of sound and instrumentation instills a certain sense of timelessness in the music - really only the use of an 80's drum machine here is what dates them.

6/16/2022 - ALBUM #140 Today's Album: "Darklands" by The Jesus and Mary Chain - These album reviews are starting to take a bit longer due to my busy schedule (which will hopefully eventually clear up), but the worst part about it is when I get these really fantastically layered albums that take me so much time to properly unpack. The instrumentals, lyricism, storytelling, songwriting, and even mood and sonic landscape of this album are all so layered and the instruments in particular are incredibly impressive when considering they're using a drum machine throughout the entire album. The album really gains a lot of it's personality through it's blaring distorted guitars that create a really rich sounding background to some really great moody vocal performances. The lyricism, although a bit hard to decipher on first listen, actually tells a really great story of feeling a lot of anger and injustice in the world and projecting it onto a relationship and all of the heartache that comes with it. By the ending track, About You, they sing about feeling better about the world and feeling something warm in the rain, warm in everything, and finally warm about "you". The lyrics can be a little heavy handed and hard to understand at some times, but I also think it's totally possible to just tune them out and enjoy this project for the great soundscapes it creates. This album overall just strikes a really awesome balance sonically by having a really structured automatic beat, that honestly sounds convincing for a drum machine, and then having a lot of effects on the guitars, melodic basslines, and somewhat strained vocals to incorporate a really moody atmosphere. They then incorporate a lot of conventional song structure to make this sound really appealing. A lot of the stuff in this album has become very worn out in the alt-rock genre, but for 1987, this still holds up today and sounds so incredibly fresh. The mix is also pretty solid, putting the vocals in the background of these blasting guitar chords. The songs April Skies and On The Wall stand out to me as all of these ingredients combining to create something that ascends the rest of the tracks. I also think the sequencing of this album is really solid, with the few songs that weren't as good being sprinkled throughout the track list. Overall, this album deserves a listen with a really good pair of headphones because most of the greatness in this record comes from the soundscapes they create, but at the same time...I really love that shit. Give this one a listen if you like an album with a moody alt-rock tone to it or like an album that gives you some great sonic moments and experiences. Highlights: Darklands, Happy When It Rains, Down On Me, April Skies, Fall, Cherry Came Too, On The Wall Score: 8/10 Pretty fantastic and unique alt-rock experience

[Editorial note: Having tested positive for covid this morning, it may not have been the best idea to try and objectively review an album today] I don’t know man, i’d rather listen to “Vehicle” by The Clean. Maybe it’s the covid talking but these records feel similar, with the Clean being more upbeat and less “everything’s a bit shit, innit?” (Is that a Peep Show or The Thick of It reference? I can’t remember. Either way, it’s a show that Jesse Armstrong wrote on and I’m pretty sure it’s not Succession. This feels like an Ollie line from The Thick of It, like maybe he’s mocking Robin or Terri or something. That’s what I’ll do with some of my covid down time, rewatch the The Thick of It and then maybe Peep Show…but Peep Show’s like 9 seasons, I don’t think I can plow through that entire show while fighting off covid. I mean that would take a while and I’m hoping this is done within a few days.) Holy fuck, does my head hurt.

Was never into J&MC despite their music having a lot of qualities I like (heavy guitar, heavy distortion, decent pace on most songs). The somnambulant singing weighs them down, as does their album production, which often sounds like the music was being played from the next room over. Shadowlands ditches the distortion and the production is a much better affair, but the songs are snoozers. The group had a problem with violent fuckwits showing up to their gigs (prompted in part by their own shitty behavior), which perhaps accounts for the muted approach here. Anyway, not much to say otherwise. Pretty dreary!

Kind of a snooze if I'm being honest. A generally inoffensive record, but nothing stands out. From start to finish it sounds the same. Drab, repetitive, droning and bland.

Probably great. Definitely boring.

Completely forgettable. The only redeemable quality for this album is that it is not so offensive that I would turn it off immediately.

I had bought this sight unseen because of how much I loved their first album. Here the Reid Brothers ditched the feedback but kept their songwriting chops. Somehow this album straddles light and dark at the same time — a miraculous feat.

POSTROCKKKKK. Awesome album. Dancing around the apartment listening, sets a fantastic morning vibe. I really have been loving a lot of music out of this era lately.

If everybody listened to the Jesus and Mary Chain the world would be a much better place. Absolutely LOVED this. Undeniably great. 5

When I feel romantically melancholic, I listen to this album. I hope I will find someone to whom I could sing and play the song About You on the guitar…

One of my all time favorite bands, love them. The are likely one of the most copied bands from the 80s. Just amazing.

All timer. Wish I had time to listen more

epic

Love it. Boundary pushing indie pop; jaded romance.

This is not how I remember JAMC. The Beach Boys influences are easy to hear, and they've updated them incredibly.

Awesome!!

Not as good as their first album but I'm a big fan of this too

Awesome album, I can't believe I waited so long before listening to it

Nice to hear an album from the 80’s that don’t sound like it was made in the 80’s.

I think this is a very good album, but it's impact is really more in how influential it was and helped establish a genre of music that would continue thereafter. I was surprised to hear a lot of similarities in this album and bands like The Psychedelic Furs. Overall, I really like The Jesus and Mary Chain, but this album mostly passes by. I much prefer "Honey," one of their later albums. I'd probably give "Darklands" 3.5 stars, but I am going to round up, because I do think they are a great band and very influential.

This is way less abrasive than their first album but also somewhat less distinctive. Still good solid, chill post-punk.

One has always enjoyed the melodious sweetness herein, which contrast with dense, sonically fuzzy backdrop not nearly as dark and certainly not as heavy or screechy as Psychocandy. The sincere non-morbid yearning is well articulated in the singalong chorus (“Du-du-DUHdu-du”) of the opener. The tension between the tunefulness and drone-y walls balance provides the energy. There's a likable simplicity here, too, as if basic, relatively innocent ‘50s songs were updated with a more metallic sonic palette and near-industrial-strength production effects, pushing coolness from white t-shirts, leather jackets and cigarettes to the post-new wavey angst of torn, all-black clothes, thick boots and harder drugs. In the end, a highly evocative and richly satisfying pop record thanks to sweet, solid hooks within pleasantly dark shadings.

Not as revolutionary as their predecessor and noise pop masterpiece Psychocandy, but it's just as solid. Plenty of amazing tracks, including the bonus "Some Candy Talking" that I pretend is included, sounds inspired by Velvet Underground. Has a very 60s jangly psychedelic pop sound, with matching dreamy vocals and the familiar 80s alt rock / New Wave production. A lot clearer than Psychocandy, but many tracks are definitely fuzzy, doing what they do best. More accessible for sure, but I'd still recommend Psychocandy to people who want to see what makes them so mind blowing. Highlights in every track, with some cranking the speed ("Down on Me") while others contributing to a dark chasm of an atmosphere ("The Wall", "Nine Million Rainy Days").

Really love this kind of sound. Great guitar work. Almost a mix between jangly and droning that somehow works? My only issue is that it’s a bit samey, but it’s a minor issue. Just barely holding it back from a 5.

(3/5) I definitely liked this album more than their other on the list. That one sounded like they were transmitting it from a low power AM station with two rocks and two tin cans joined by string.. bad. This one drops a bunch of that shtick and lets their music come through better. It's not my favorite type of music and I group it with the bunch of overrepresented styles/genres of music on this list, but in the totality of the list this is OK. Middle of the road for this type, and not offensive. I even found myself bobbing my head for a few of the middle, faster tracks.

Turns out that when they drop the wall of noise that they hid their music behind on the last entry, they sound a little bit better and more tolerable. Not great by any stretch, mind you, but MORE tolerable. Now I can hear the "jangly" guitar sound that is their signature much more clearly in order to discover I'm not a big fan of that, either. Sill, it's a 2.5 that I'll round up in order to differentiate before never listening to more of them.

6/10. It starts off nice, but the listen gets tiresome as it drags on.

Many of us listening to The Jesus and Mary Chain's debut album could hear bitter-sweet pop songs under the squalling feedback. In their second album these songs are even clearer.

essential and perfect

Wow, what an absolute improvement over Psychocandy. Not saying I did not enjoy The Jesus and Mary Chain's debut album, but Darklands blows that project clear out of the water in nearly every single way. This project feels very Lynchian as it sounds like a blend between Alt Country, Alternative Rock, and just a perfect sprinkle of more gothic genres like Post-Punk to create a very odd and yet charming album. I also don't think enough people give this album credit for how romantic it is as well, the songwriting on display here is so passionate like on April Skies or About You that really make you fall in love with this sound. This whole album has this smokey and dimly lit bar feel to it that makes it feel so comforting and at home even if you are unfamiliar with the album like myself. Some may find the dry vocal performances here to feel a bit stale but personally I find them very charming. Darklands is a very cute gothic album, truly an oddball love story of an album, and I wish more people gave this the love and appreciation it deserves because it is beautiful in such a strange way.

Great stuff

A more interesting side of music coming out of the 80s. Drenched in reverbs, very rock but sort of mellow and atmospheric. A great listen and a fascinating band.

Kind of remarkable how well this aged into the 90s and how influential this band was even into the 2000s. Also a nice bracing antidote to the 80s even as there are pop hooks that hail to older music traditions buried in the moodiness and reverb.

It reminds me of when youre a child and watch a movie on a saturday afternoon and this song starts to play in the middle of the movie. Very nice songs. Love the recommendation.

very very cozy album. as the song says, there’s something warm in everything

Always been a sucker for shoegaze/dream-pop but before embarking on this project I just never had the labels for it. Found JaMC with ‘April Skies’ about a year ago, but been a big fan ever since. 5/5

Indie rock

I know Psychocandy and various JAMC singles but somehow never got round to listening to the follow up in full. It's great, stripping away the feedback and chaos to reveal some gorgeous melodies.

very cool album, soft and depressing, the spirit of 90s grunge is all over it

What a beautiful album to end my 4 and a half long journey of listening to 1089 albums on this website. Shout out to everyone who made this website list and who is actively using it. Will remember this experience for the rest of my life. Has 100percent changed my life. Love to everyone. Good night and good luck. ✌️✌️✌️

I’m more familiar with Psychocandy from JaMC, but I’m not sure I’ve ever listened to this one before. I was surprised to find this to be a superior album that I considered an easy 5 stars with just one listen. They’re a band I always expect to sound like The Cure (who I revere), but they’re closer in sound to R.E.M. or something like an emo-Springsteen. This album is fantastic from start to finish.

# Playlist track - Darklands # Notes - A pretty cool surprise. I knew nothing about them. - Got hooked pretty much straight away. - What's with this album and rain? - Definitely worth the listen, and I look forward to getting to know others too.

Really loved this. I don’t think I’ve ever listened to the band. This kind of pointers in new directions is what I am here for. First album I know I will return to a lot. Clearly inspired other stuff I like.

Like SHARPE leading his men in to battle.

really good, definitely easier to listen to than Psychocandy but I really love both I really enjoyed the fuckin shit out of this album - 10/10

I pretty much like everything this band has done, I bounce between this and Honey's Dead as my favorite.

This album was beautifully tragic. The songs on this album definitely take you to some darklands. Even though the lyrics are melancholy I enjoyed their cool sound and his voice. I definitely liked this album more than I thought I would. Some of my favorites were darklands, deep one perfect morning, and happy when it rains. New favorite band for me.

Now this is the Chains I like!

213. Darklands - The Jesus And Mary Chain (1987) 9.23.26 Variety: 4 Adequacy: 5 Listenability: 5 Uniqueness: 4 Emotionality: 3 = 4.2 rounded down to a 4 "And you...and me/ Will win...you'll see/ People die in their living rooms/ But they do not need this God almighty gloom" Once again it's nice to be able to go through an artist's discography in order. The Jesus and Mary Chain only have the two albums on the list, and we've already hit Psychocandy, which I absolutely loved and which garnered a 5-star rating. I never made it very far back in the day with the band, with Psychocandy being the only one that kept popping up on lists. After the recent listen I did jump ahead to their most recent release from 2024 - Glasgow Eyes - and thought it was pretty decent for a bunch of old dudes. Very much looking forward to hearing this one for the first time, but who knows maybe I will recognize a random track from somewhere. I'm most curious to see where in the world they could go after that debut, which seems to have influenced many of the bands we've recently had a run of - Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., My Bloody Valentine... THE TRACKS Side one "Darklands" - Right away it's VERY noticeable that these guys have toned the noise WAY down. There's still some fuzz and plenty of reverb, but it's not as overpowering and feels much more like what the bands who imitated them ended up sounding like. At least production-wise. They still have the 60s girl group but played in slow motion sound, maybe with a bit more jangle and a touch even of psychedelia. To be honest, I hear the shoegaze influence of bands like Mazzy Star more so than the my Bloody Valentines in that the noise to sugary bubblegum melodies are much more in balance. I like the full spectrum of that stuff though, so this is no problem for me. Fine stuff here, and glad they opened with a winner. "Deep One Perfect Morning" - There's that Shangri-Las beat, and maybe some Velvet Underground thrown in for good measure, with the drone and the vocals coming in on the low end. The guitars remain bright and ringing and jangly as all get out though, and while it's got a pretty dead center momentum without too many dynamics, the guitar keeps things on the rails, and this one ends up being a great bit of lazy atmosphere. "Happy When It Rains" - More poppy and uptempo, this one sounds much more of its time. I would compare it favorably to mid 80s Ramones, who had a similar harder edge laid over top of their still very bubblegum pop melodies. But it has that echoey, sparse 80s production that everyone around this time seemed to be drawn to, from the Cure to Roxette to Love and Rockets to New Order. This is as mainstream as I've heard these guys, and I don't hate it. "Down on Me" - We get some surf rock sounds in both the beat and the guitar work on this one that once again manages to give off some Ramones vibes ( compare this to their cover of "California Sun"). And I love me some upbeat music in combination with downer lyrics. The flavor this time is paranoia and pessimism in the light of a what might just be bright days ahead. "Nine Million Rainy Days" - We get a slow motion pop number about the deep dark depths of a obsession, and with appropriately low key vocals. I think I might have pointed this out on teh last album, but when you take these and play them at 1.5 speed the poppy song structure becomes even more apparent. This one, more than some of their others, almost sounds like it was written at a normal speed and then just slllllooooooooowwwwwed down. The sugary sweet pretty melodies still come across, and make the dark subject matter and downer vibes all the better for it. It's like a piece of cholocate covered bacon, where the savory and sweet combine into something you could not think could ever taste as good as it actually does. Dig those "woo-woo-woo" backing vocals low in the mix. Loved this. Side two "April Skies" - Harder and more driving, this one feels like another stab at a more mainstream sound. The bass and guitar here are especially crunchy and with the toe tapping up to normal speed beat I could see this one as being strong lead single material. ( edit: I checked, and it was indeed the first single off the album - and would be the highest they ever charted in their career). "Fall" - The sound gets slightly bit more epic hear with the guitars, and someone turned the reverb knob up to the Peter Murphy setting. Instrumental-wise, everything sounds a lot clearer though, which is a nice dynamic. What of the Smithereens decided to play at a goth night show maybe? Still digging this evolution though. "Cherry Came Too" - More slow motions Ramones by way of the Beach Boys, with some jangle pop mixed in. I can even hear a bit of the Cult in here as well, especially their softer side. Still very pretty, and the sameyness of the overall sound has not yet started to wear on me, which is an excellent sign. But still maybe good that we're nearing the end, as I could see that being an issue with a long run time. "On the Wall" - This was fine, and seemed to look more towards the Velvet Underground repetitious drone model, and stayed pretty in the pocket without ever straying too high or low. For that reason, it doesn't reach as high as some of the other stuff, and I wish teh ending had soared upwards after a build, which would have pulled it up with the rest. "About You" - We end on a really different sound, this time going full on soft and gentle, and is more akin to some of the lighter stuff by the Cure or even by the La's. I really liked the juxtaposition of this sound with everything that came before, and even the lyrics are sweet and more than a bit optimistic. And I didn't detect any notes of sarcasm either, which was nice, and could very well have been a version which would not have sat well with the sincerity on display elsewhere. This makes me want to re-listen to the Peel Sessions Talking EP where they perform some acoustic covers of stuff off of Psychocandy. HIGHLIGHTS - "Darklands" - "Deep One Perfect Morning" - "Happy When It Rains" - "Down on Me" - "Nine Million Rainy Days" - "April Skies" - "Fall" - "Cherry Came Too" - "About You" MIDLIGHTS - "On the Wall" LOWLIGHTS FINAL THOUGHTS At barely under 36 minutes, this was just the right amount of time to soak in this vibe of very pretty, very downbeat 60s inspired poppy alt rock. What it lacked in the atmosphere and electricity of the debut, it made up with a clear focus, and a very damn solid track list of catchy, pretty pop songs that made the effort of meeting a more radio-friendly sound halfway at least. I'm sure there had to have been some conscious effort here to court some more popular appeal, but they also don't go full on dumb either, and still sound exactly like the Jesus and Mary Chain. I really love it when a great band evolves I can find more nooks and crannies to explore, and be surprised by how different can still be good. I would not say they played it safe so much as they just looked around and did some level setting. All that said, as much as I did like this, it was most definitely did not have the lightning in a bottle feel of the first one. And that's ok. I think a much younger version of myself could only have been disappointed if a band didn't follow up a 5 star masterpiece with another one, but I think over the last few decades I've learned to accept that greatness a lot of the time is accidental, even for the best bands. There are very few artists in any media that are able to maintain a string of works that all are better than the previous, and come out the other end with perfect runs. Even the Beatles had Beatles for Sale. Possible turn-Offs might include: - droning guitars - downbeat lyrics - slooooooow rhythms - some reverb - repetitious song structures You Might enjoy this if you: - love 80s Ramones - dig some wall of sound dynamics, but not so much as on their previous album - like the perfect mix of mainstream, radio-friendliness, and 80s dark, alt vibes - enjoy simple, 60s'-ish pop melodies PLAYLIST ALTERATIONS - Nah. FURTHER LISTENING Precursors: - Bo Diddley by Bo Diddley - Leader of the Pack by the Shangri-Las - Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys - The Velvet Underground & Nico by The Velvet Underground & Nico - Leave Home by Ramones - Power, Corruption & Lies by New Order - Juju by Siouxsie and the Banshees Contemporaries: - Echo & the Bunnymen by Echo & the Bunnymen - Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me by the Cure - Sonic Flower Groove by Primal Scream - Strangeways, Here We Come by the Smiths Descendants: - Isn't Anything by My Bloody Valentine - You're Living All Over Me by Dinosaur Jr. - Siamese Dream by Smashing Pumpkins - Souvlaki by Slow Dive - Smile by Ride - Take Them On, On Your Own by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

I enjoyed this album much more than the first The Jesus and Mary Chain album we had, “Psychocandy,” which I gave a 2. Once they dropped that wall of muffled sound I found out they’re a pretty good band when I can hear them. Let's also get this out of the way, the obligatory use of the term "jangly" as in "These guitars are hella jangly." or "The guitars on this album lead with their jangly foot." And even: "Knock, knock." "Who's there?" "Jangly guitars." Okay. Now, I gotta say I could let this mood wash right over me. "Happy When it Rains" and "Nine Million Rainy Days" were just perfect to listen to on walks during this first few days of fall, as the weather turns cool and the clouds gathered to gray out the sky. Yeah, I get it now. 4/5

enjoyed the album. I knew a song or two from them, did not realize they have been together o long. good indie album fully accessible

Pre-listening thoughts: listen idk who these guys are BUT with a name like “Jesus and MARY Chain” I thought (hoped with no shred of real evidence) that one of em would be a woman. The representation on this list sucks so bad that’s how desperate I am for some female contribution. Post/during listening thoughts: ok so this is going to sound weird but I can genuinely hear how people took inspiration from this and then proceeded to make it boring. My opinion is if you have vocals that drone, you need to have instrumentation that doesn’t. This does that. Future indie artists do not do that. So much of 90s/00s shoegaze drones in EVERY aspect. But this was a pleasant listen. 7/10 DID I NEED TO HEAR THIS BEFORE I DIE: no Fav tracks: Darklands, Happy When it Rains, Down on Me, April Skies, Cherry Came Too Least fav tracks: Fall

J&MC: 🎶 Me: This is pretty good. Sounds like a bunch of other early 90s indie though J&MC: 🎶 Me: What do you mean this came out in the mid 80s? Nice tunes. 4/5

Time for another band that I've vaguely heard of! I knew practically nothing about the Jesus and Mary Chain until today, so I didn't have any specific expectations. I've gotta say. This is some great music right here. I like this. The sound is pretty cool. It's pretty chill. It's somewhat fun, but there's also some noise there. Fortunately, it's the kind of noise that doesn't hurt to listen to, which I think works very well in an album like this. The singing is pretty interesting. I think it works very well with the feedback to create a unique vibe that I really like. The writing is pretty good too. Songs like "April Skies" are just wonderful in many regards. My biggest complaint is that there's just not enough of it! This album is only 36 minutes long, so I feel that I really didn't get to appreciate it as much. Fortunately, the Jesus and Mary Chain's debut album, Psychocandy, is also on this list. Apparently that album is even better than this one, so it must be pretty great. Still, Darklands is a really good album. 4/5.

Darklands Less dark and oppressive than Psychocandy, there is a palpable lightness to the music on here, and whilst keeping to the same general template, there are some great little pop hooks and moments - the slowed down bubblegum surf pop melodies that were under the gloom of Psychocandy show themselves here, emerging without the dark and claustrophobic tone and mix of that album. There are still some punk riffs and still some of the same atmosphere, but there is definitely less shade and dark corners. There are some great little guitar hooks and moments, combining some overdrive with jangly pop and drones, which, as a consequence of the lighter feel, are more apparent than on Psychocandy. There do seem to be a lot of lifts from other songs, which I don’t particularly mind, Darklands pretty much lifts the melody from Love Vigilantes by New Order for the riff and the Oooh Ooohs on Nine Million Rainy Days are quite Sympathy for the Devil. I could also hear a touch of Sweet Dreams on Cherry Came Too. But that doesn’t really matter too much as they conjure up some very good songs, Darklands, Happy When it Rain, Nine Million Rainy Days, April Skies and it is nice and succinct at about 35 minutes. Even if some of the songs aren’t quite as good, they all work with the atmosphere and sound of the album. Like Psychocandy this does depend on whether you like their template and formula, and like Psychocandy, I am a fan. Although the template is similar, this does have that different end result, less moody and less aurally confrontational, subsequently it's a nice complement and partner to Psychocandy. I gave that 4 and I’ll do the same with this. ✝️✝️✝️✝️ Playlist submission: Nine Million Rainy Days

The JAMC pop album - I think universally acknowledged as not as good as Psychocandy but still pretty great. There's some foreshadowing of JAMC-do-Billy Idol-'Head On' here. And more stuff that sounds a bit like Just Like Honey, rather than a drill boring directly into your soul. These are not necessarily bad things, there is a place for both, and how do you top the debut?

Interesting album with links to to the shoegaze/dreampop scene. The bass is strong and the drums somewhat refrained. The singing does not go into big crescendos or spectacle, but rather forms an atmosphere. At points reminds me of My Bloody Valentine's "Isn't Anything" album, but with a lighter wall of sound, allowing more room for the melody. I have been curious about this band, but never had a chance to listen to one of their albums in full. I think this was a great introduction and at 36 minutes, is not a demanding listen. Genre: Rock, shoegaze, dreampop. Year: 1987 Track highlights: Darklands, On the Wall, Nine Million Rainy Days

Miserable Glaswegians sing about depressing things in a public toilet. It's an album smothered in rain clouds but occasionally poppy melodies break through like a bit of warm sunshine. Best Tracks: Darklands; Happy When It Rains; April Skies

4.3 - Perhaps it's a testament to the gripping power of "Psychocandy" but my first instinct when listening to this album for the first time is to understand it within the context of "Psychocandy." In actuality, to me this album is way more pleasant and approachable. Songs like "April Skies" are just pop delights. "Fall" has just hints of that fuzzy guitar sound that they'd blow out so completely on "Psychocandy." There's an expansive, shimmery and atmospheric sound - wish I had listened to this album before attempting to understand "Psychocandy." Though my path here feels somewhat circuitous, I'm really happy I finally got to this great record.

Legendario.

Not the impact of Psychocandy but still a very good album, nice to see it on the list!

Another band I know are supposed to be Very Important but that I have never taken much time to understand. I know Psychocandy is supposed to be great. Straight up, with Darklands, I like the song but detest the intensely 80's drum sound*. I like the Scots brogue of the vocals. Two tracks in, it feels like a lot of shoegaze. Inoffensive but not mind-blowing. Happy When it Rains is a step up. A genuinely good pop indie song with a grumpy streak. Then it turns out I know and like Down on Me from indie discos! And it's a tune! This alone has made today's album worth my time. Nine Million Rainy Days is also great - the middle of this album is very strong - like Atmosphere by Joy Division filtered through Heavenly Records. April Skies isn't quite as good, but this is still shaping up well. It continues in a fairly 'album track' vein to the end from here, until the very sweet closer, About You, which is a leap in quality again. A hard one to rate. The best tracks are 4s and 5s, the filler is solid 2s. Ideally I'd rate it 3.5, I suppose I'll see how I feel and rate it either 3 or 4! * Just found out this is because they replaced Bobby Gillespie (of Primal Scream) who was their drummer with a drum machine. I believe even Steps and Ed Sheeran benefit from lacking Bobby Gillespie, so I'm not marking them down for this!

Shoegaze before it had a name. Liked the harder albums more, a la The Hardest Walk, but a good album I never really listened to.

Emo Beach Boys are fun, fun, fun.

This was fine. Kinda boring. Neutral rating.

It is good, but doesn't excite me and bores me a bit. 3 stars

My sun is stuck. I cannot go back to your Darklands.

I've heard this sound before; that widescreen, reverb-heavy thing - often just two major chords alternating at medium pace. When successful it creates a cinematic and melancholic atmosphere. Did TJAMC pioneer this sound? Kudos if so, but I find it kinda samey when there's a whole album of it. Also, to let so much 'space' in, it seems you often have to sacrifice interesting songcraft. That said, I didn't get bored, as such. It was a nice enough half hour of music. 2.5 / 3

Nine Million Rainy Days // April Skies //

My first thought, when listening to this album, was that it was a pretty decent, run-of-the-mill rock album for the mid '90s. That I looked and saw that it was released in '87. Turns out, it's actually a pretty decent rock album that was ahead of it's time. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Solid 3 stars.

If you were to prompt your favorite AI bot to generate an alternative rock album that sounds like it came from 1987 this would be the result.

Heard Before? Yup, but I'm more familiar with Psychocandy. Notes: - every production style has its place, but I really hate these drum sounds. all of them. in every song. - the Lou Reed of Scotland vocals are equal parts charming and annoying. I'm not opposed to them being buried in the mix. - that leaves the chiming guitars and root-notes-only basslines. they are fine! I've just heard too much similar music. - songs: they have verses! they have choruses! sometimes other parts! and..... you guessed it, mildly transgressive lyrics. meh. Verdict: It's brooding jangle pop that was influential on thousands of 90s bands. Just because it came first-ish doesn't make it great. Listen Again? Why?

Mmm not for this listener!

Never heard of this band before. Do do do do do dooo. Do do do do do dooo. Ugh. Darklands (the song) sucks. Lyrics that sound like they're supposed to be deep but actually don't mean anything are everywhere. Riffs that have a decent tone but are awful repetitive. These guys are like proto-Creed/Nickleback. But somehow worse. Sorry but there's not a single redeeming feature in this entire album. Glad I didn't try listening to the extended version, fucking hell.

Pretty unmemorable.

This was not my thing when it was released back in the '80s, but I gave it a listen in 2026 and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Some quality 1980s new wave / alternative music.

I don't know but I never bought this. I should have done. I loved it.

A gorgeous shoegaze offering, twinkling with nostalgia

Love it when you can actually hear and understand the lead vocal. Really like their sound. This one to be added to my collection.

Awesome and amazing