Reviews (page 4 of 7)
Pretty good. The feedback is a little much at times.
Just Like Honey is a good song. Rest is not bad.
Raw, buzzy, raucous but poppy at the same time. A bit repetitive and lacking dimensionality and the recording is not good but that's part of the charm I suppose. Reminds me a bit of joy division and nirvana having a lovechild.
I understand how this is meant as kind of a reaction to 80s Post-Punk trend (rather than being a part of it), but I prefer pretty much any 80s Post-Punk album
I wanted to like this but the distortion is all over the place
Day 93 Took me a couple of goes but ended up really enjoying this. 7/10 Highlights Just Like Honey Sowing Seeds
Surprisingly still holds up! Enjoyable!
I found them interesting today. Nothing great but kind of fun as I did yard work.
*1985 *Scottish alt rock. *Pretty standard UK 80s music, but nothing memorable. RATING. 6.5/10
Great. It rips. Fun fun fun.
3 Solid goth pop. Vibey, atmospheric, a hint of shoegaze to come. Very listenable.
Pretty, sexy distortion. Yet so cool that it keeps a distance.
52/100. While I found it good in parts, this record was just a bit too noisy for my personal taste. The screeching and walls of white noise were overwhelming at times.
Better than expected
Good for a debut album but ultimately I enjoy how their sound evolves in the future.
Not my fav so far by these guys but I love the vibes here and I can see how many of my favorite bands are influenced by them
Sometimes debut albums are the best thing a group's ever done, and sometimes they're foundations for what follows. To me, Psycho Candy is the latter. The JAMC sound is here, but I think they found themselves later. I enjoyed this and particularly liked "The Hardest Walk," though it sounds same-y after a while.
Solid enough but a bit one dimensional and dreary in places
Enjoyed.
I like it. Not as much as other JAMC albums but I get this was their debut and everyone says the first album is the best. I like the noise, I like the raw emotion in the music, too bad the singing is monotone and occasionally changes pitch. Ground-breaking? No. Essential to hear before I die? Sure 3.25 / 5 stars
the first track obviously stands above, but was surprised at the release date being 1985, wasn't a bad listen at all.
gillar, väldigt mycket känsla. de lutar sig in i det fula och kaotiska och ber inte om ursäkt. jag gillar verkligen soundet. saknar lite tydlighet i vision så velar mellan 3 o 4
Pretty fuzzy for 1985. I liked the rest of the album better than the big hit, which I always found to be a snooze, but it still gets pretty tedious.
Id like this more if the tunes were less repetitive.
I've never been a big fan of The Jesus and Mary Chain. This starts very well but then loses it somewhere.
Ok
A very unique sound that I wasn’t expecting. Several of the tracks seemed to purposefully distort the instruments while the vocals were deliberately tuned to sound as if they were singing into a tin can. This edgy style carried throughout the album. It wasn’t a bad effect, but I wasn’t really into it. Middle of the road for me; I could take it or leave it just the same.
cool rock pendant ma balade dans paris
As a complete aside, I went down a rabbit hole about ‘be my baby’ by the ronettes and how Brian Wilson tried for years to replicate that sound after listening to the first few drum beats of ‘just like honey’ because they are uncannily similar. Psychocandy is a brilliant wash of sound but I felt like the rest of the album just never hit the height of that first track. Huge influences on shoegaze and post punk to follow I’m sure though.
Quite grunge, it's not bad but I think I got a little bored through this.
Going into Psychocandy, I hadn’t listened to much of The Jesus and Mary Chain before, so their debut album felt like the perfect place to start. I was expecting a much heavier, harder sound than what I actually got. The album is drenched in feedback and distortion—sometimes to the point where it becomes overwhelming and difficult to get through. You often find yourself turning it down just to give your ears a break. But underneath all that noise, there’s the foundation of early indie rock, and on certain tracks you can hear genuinely good songwriting trying to break through. I went on a bit of a journey with this album. The opening few tracks are full of promise, and I really enjoyed them. But around the midpoint, the distortion starts to dominate, and by the end I just wanted it to be over. That said, you can clearly hear how Psychocandy influenced bands like Primal Scream and The Charlatans—the DNA of that sound is right here. Favourite track: Just Like Honey and The Living End – both great songs and a strong start to the album. Least favourite track: Later songs like My Little Underground and You Trip Me Up are swamped by distortion and feedback, which really take away from the music. Album artwork: A cool and iconic cover.
You can see where the Stone Roses got inspired and overall it's good but I wouldn't choose to put this on regularly.
A little over-the-top with distortion, but some good melodies, so three stars.
Love the first song. The dissonance is a little much but glad I listened.
6/10…shoegaze / post punk
This is dope. Never knew of this group before. Grimy, noisy, grungy. The music is heavy and deep, bringing harmony to the vocals and completing the sound. It sounds like chaos, but organized chaos.
Moody, broody.
Era como entre The Smiths, y por ahi algo de The Cure. Hubieron como dos temas que me sonaban a melodias previamente conocidas
Super cool and like proto shoegaze in a way. I love the guy’s voice it sounds kinda like Westerberg tbh. Did not love the sound of the snare lol
I liked their other album on here more, maybe a little too much fuzz
76% Best: Taste The Floor; The Hardest Walk; Sowing Seeds Must-Hear? The songs are good. It's just the noise makes some tracks unlistenable. It's a nah for me
Not bad. Obviously very 80s sounding and I’d say the songs were good for the most part. But, a lot of them had a static-y sound or there was some screeching that made certain songs harder to enjoy.
If you said there was an album of a man mumbling over a wall of distorted guitars and feedback, I would say, “Sounds great! I’m up for that!” And yet, after the first song, which gave very eighties teen movie vibes, I found it a bit boring. I might come back to it again or try their second album later though. I started listening to it and it seemed to have more tunes!
Very cool sound. I think sometimes I would be more into it than I felt today. I was kind of waiting for the underlying songwriting to grab me and feel impressive to match with that production, but I didn't fall in love with anything here really. It's interesting and I'd like to listen more, but it's not top of my list to listen more to from this project.
Si, ma con parsimonia
#687. I dig it. It's a bit pretentious, and a bit too noisy for It's own good in some spots, but I do like it though. 3/5: fine
Onder alle ladingen jaren 80-reverb zitten best wat aardige nummers. "Cut Dead" klinkt bijvoorbeeld als een goede Velvet Underground-ballad, in potentie. "Inside Me" en "Sowing Seeds" hebben wat Joy Division-achtigs. Drie sterren, neigend naar vier, maar tegen het eind zakt het wel echt in.
its like listening to a decent album on broken speakers. it would actually be pretty good if they just had the static on a few songs but doing it on everyone song makes it borderline un-listenable.
54/1001 :: The Jesus And Mary Chain - Psychocandy Heard before? ❌ Would I revisit? ➖ Rating: 6 Fav Tracks: The Hardest Walk, Just Like Honey Listen before you die: Yes Talk about Fuzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzed Out. Sometimes I think the 80s sucked and then I find shit like this. This album is really cool. New wave vocals meets a whole lotta reverb. It’s worth a listen for sure and there are catchy hooks here. While I was listening to it I couldn’t help but think “I bet this would be amazing live”. Just a complete wall of sound with interesting elements dancing in and out. But what makes it cool also makes it a bit challenging of a listen for me personally. I generally like my recordings pretty punchy and this recording (while intentional I’m sure) is very muddy. I don’t know maybe I will listen again. Maybe I can get past that but I’m not sure...
An interesting mix of punk, rock, and pop. The wall of distortion trumps every sound in this album, for good or ill. You can definitely see some influences towards later bands in this album. Surprisingly easy to listen to for the most part.
it feels a bit modern, the rest is just meh
I had a friend in high school who loved this album. I like it but it always reminds me of him. He called it a coke mix. Something about the high pitch guitar noise. Just Like Honey, Sowing Seeds and Inside Me were some of my favorites.
Besides having the strange ability to flick the switch between slow lulling ballads and borderline tinnitus-inducing noise numbers, Psychocandy can be appreciated today, but only as a product of its time. It’s too new-sounding for 1980, and too old-sounding for 1990. It’s nineteen eighty-bloody-five. I can’t decide if I like the flip-flopping between atmospheric 80s songs that fit well into BBC coming-of-age dramas and what are essentially gentrified industrial tracks. What I can say about it is that it’s interesting enough to comment on, anyway. Some tracks blend the two, and these are undoubtedly the best - particularly My Little Underground, where you can have an overbearing force of noise whilst still having the atmospheric drums and uninterested-sounding vocals. When the noise kicks in, it’s brilliant and unique. For the remainder, you’re just waiting for the noise to come back.
There are a few times where I feel like I wanna give it a 4, but overall it just feels kinda muddled! I like noisy stuff, but this all blends together without any element really standing out against each other. Not bad at all though.
Tremendously enjoyed this on the first listen, but on the second listen it wore out its welcome and got a little stale. I would absolutely not consider this a shoegaze album by any means. I think it could benefit from a little more variety, but I enjoyed the contrast of the more melodic vocals with the grinding wall of sound effect.
Kinda noisy and not my thing i could see others liking it though
It's fine, but hard to parse sometimes I liked some of it but some of it was just noise
Overall: 6/10 I really wanted to love this one, and I definitely enjoyed it for the most part, but it kind of droned on for me a little too much. I'm usually a fan of overly distorted guitar (bands like Dinosaur Jr. and My Bloody Valentine do it great) but I feel like with these guys it doesn't immediately wow me. The songwriting itself is actually pretty strong, with some of them being more melodic than I had expected. If someone told me this was their favourite album of all time, I'd tell them it was a great choice even if it's not for me. Fav Song: Inside Me Least Fav Song: In a Hole
The Jesus and Mary Chain surfen durch die Gruft. Eine der Bands mit unverwechselbar eigenem Sound. Klasse Bandname auch.
not bad! kinda stone roses vibes throughout but with a grunge or even morphine filter underneath
Couple bangers Badly needs a remaster alot of peaking and distortion
Tons of distortion, metal, and noise. Not my cup of tea, but I see why it may be a big deal.
This album starts really strong - Just Like Honey is superb and a top 100 all-time song for me. (A match made in heaven at the end of Lost in Translation). The next few songs are interesting and remind of Love and Rockets (Living End = Khandalini Express) and Bauhaus (Taste of Cindy) and Joy Division (Inside Me). At this point, I'm happy and thinking 4/5. Then the second half kicks in and the over-use of reverb and crunchy guitars starts to wear thin. By the end, this album has just 3 songs: Just Like Honey and its copies (Cut Dead, Sowing Seeds, Something Wrong), a few goodies reflective of other artists from the era (Living End, Hardest Walk, Inside Me, Little Underground) a LOT of noisy mess (Taste the Floor, In a Hole, Never Understand). I'm left with mixed feelings and it’s a bit disappointing actually. The album opens so hopeful only to leave you skipping tracks near the back. Perhaps a relisten down the road may prove more kind. 3/5
It's growing on me, but I cannot yet get over the distortion noise. Just too much.
Mid new wave
Interesting enough
A lot of the songs sound the same
3 Stars for being so cute and fuzzy.
Some good songs, too many screeching beeps and too repetitive. It makes three stars because of lost in translation
Now this is an interesting little album. I did not expect it to sound like this. I had heard that The Jesus and Mary Chain were a nineties band, but this album came out in 85. The songs are drenched in feedback, and feel like they were a precursor to what music would become in the 90s. Jim Reid’s vocals are reminiscent of New Wave Acts like Joy Division and The Cure, which he definitely succeeds in emulating their style. William Reid’s guitar is a staple on songs like Never Understand and Something’s Wrong. Douglas Hart and Bobby Gillespie make up a solid rhythm section, too. A lot of the songs are pretty short, so the one’s I don’t like as much I probably won’t be coming back to. I tossed around giving this album a 3 or a 4, and I ended up going with a three, but I like it more than the albums I’ve already given 3s, so let it be known that this album seems more like a 3.5/3.8. Still a pretty solid album.
This band had potential. I wish the distortion was less, and that the reverb didn’t sound like one was in the bathroom. I think it’s a 3.
There is some really good songs on here, if only they didn’t persist with the distortion on some songs…
An angle-grinder shaping a surfboard
I like the fuzz. I don't like the feedback.
Interesting album
Nice and decent. Easy background listening 6/10
Good
While it’s not something I’ll go back to, I feel accomplished in having understood this albums appeal on first listen. Industrial and noisy but still melodic and meaningful. I can see how this could’ve captivated some subset of young people with its relatively new sound and aesthetics. “Cut Dead” was my obvious favorite, it seems like when they want to tone things down they go back to the same tried-and-true songs structure and performance style of this song specifically. I can see how this album filled a niche and blazed the trail for shoegaze to come. I also hear a strange amount of yung lean’s side project, Jonatan Leandoer96, in this group. 3/5
This had so much potential- some of the songs are so lovely. But the insane amounts of reverb/distortion makes some of the songs basically unlistenable, and gives the whole album a same-y quality.
we've got some more sludgy and crunchy noise rock here. it's a certain vibe for sure, cloudy punk rock music that sounds like it was recorded and performed in a bathroom. take the likes of the beach boys, and imagine if they took meth. or acid. or both. this whole record almost sounds like if tv static tried to write a few songs. it's definitely got a solid foundation, and i wouldn't be inspired if it took the notice of bands like sonic youth, my bloody valentine or nirvana. some of the screeching noise sounds like nails on a chalkboard and gives me a migraine.
The opener is timeless classic. The other songs are also fine. My issue lies with their similar sound, not helped by a very similar arrangement and mixing. This band did better on other albums.
Precursor to alternative rock? Yeah, that check out
Good 80's sound
I mean it's quite noisy and messy, but Just Like Honey is one of the best songs I've ever heard so I can forgive it.
Gefällt mir. Aber nur als Hintergrund Musik. bis auf den ersten Tracl, der ist Hammer
Apparently these guys were the genesis for shoegaze. They sound like if Lou Reed sang for the Clash. Like a lot of shoegaze bands, though, they have trouble distinguishing their sound from one song to the next and the entire album sounds like one continuous tone and beat and rhythm. Decent lyrics.
This one will always divide opinion, the great feedback debate! I'm on the fence, I would like this album much more if it didn't dominate so much. One of my favourite tracks is 'Some Candy Talking' and that has none, just a cool guitar sound. But I bought that as a single released after the album, so it shouldn't really be included. So I really got into them after this album when the feedback was dropped, but I understand its influence and there's something cool about a beautiful pop melody through a haze of white noise. Where it works best is, of course, 'Just Like Honey' which gets a star all of its own, beautiful and cool. If you haven't seen 'Lost in Translation' then watch it! One of my favourite films, and favourite closing sequence, where JLH plays a huge part. p.s. I loved their look and copied it for a few years in the late 80s! p.p.s I walked past Jim Reid in Wardour Street around 1990. Cool, moody bugger, as you'd expect :)
Not enough distortion on the guitars. 3 Stars.
Fantastic to see this included on the list. Undoubtedly influential in laying the path for a zillion Indy shoe-gazing bands with its soporific, leaden sound and use of feedback. It’s just not my thing and I find it pretty dull, the classic opening track aside. I could listen to that on repeat for an hour, which is around 40 minutes more than I’d care to listen to the remainder of the album for.
I’m rounding up. The first couple songs had so much fuzz I felt like I was walking into a Halloween exhibit that had too much fog machine and the music was coming out of a washing machine. Like the dryer. As in the dryer is running and a speaker playing music is on full blast. The sounds are seeping through cracks in the doors but you still can’t really tell what’s coming through. The fog cleared as the album progressed and some of the songs were enjoyable.
Liked this. Not something I'll return to, but a pleasant album to listen to during a unseasonably cold May midweek day.
Doom, doom doom chick
a perfect opening track - anthemic drums, incredible riff, transcendent first verse lyrics - hits me in a way that’s impossible to describe. the rest of the album basically repeats itself (like, literally in “sowing seeds”), but tjamc could’ve just recorded fart sounds after “just like honey” and I’d still like this record.
beter alleszins dan vorige worp die ik van hen beluisterde... maar toch net iets te poppy
Singular album, this one. The Beach Boys-esque melodies paired with noisy guitars and feedback is something I don't think was ever done before (or even after). These guys just exude cool, maybe a bit too much even. The song, however, are bit too similar sounding and lack a bit of substance, but they do sound cool. Key tracks: Just Like Honey Cut Dead Some Candy Talking (this one wasn't on the original album but it kinda counts too)
Enjoyed a couple of the songs. Good enough for a 3.
idk why the drums were recorded in a cave underground but i liked it
Just Like Heaven is really great obvs and I think the rest of it is fun too but less memorable (love the drums it reminds me of Be My Baby)
This was an enjoyable listen. Nothing really stood out above the mix and nothing felt particularly memorable, but I liked the ambiance. 3.5/5
Rating: 3.5/5 | Favorite Track: Just Like Honey --- There were a few tracks from this that o really enjoyed and I honestly thought I would like this album a lot more considering my love for the post-punk of this era. But this was a little too noisy for my liking -- maybe upon revisiting this album later might I rate this higher.
3.5/5
shoegaze has the opportunity to be extremely expressive, but this album comes from a time before people knew how. i love the influence of this album, however the album itself varies between somewhat interesting and actually painful. low three
Bit too much electric guitar wailing for my taste. But some good lyrics and jams for sure.
Its ok - but honestly after listening to it there's not a single track I remember.
Heard of the band but didn’t recognize any of the songs. Not too bad though.
Just Like Honey is a 4* song, the rest was vibes but no standouts...
Nothing crazy going on here but solid enough. Not my genre really so 3 stars
3.5
Ten szum, ten reverb, chaos tłumiący przyjemny wokal - rozumiem zamysł, ale nie zostanę fanką tego rozwiązania. Może czasem jestem w stanie otulić się hałasem jak kocem, ale w większości przypadków mi to przeszkadza. Nie jestem w stanie pokochać czegoś tak dalekiego od harmonii i balansu. 5/10.
yeah i knew this one, it's fine, but doesn't sweep me off my feet
Nice to listen to in the background, but not jaw-dropping
The album was cool, I didn’t necessarily enjoy the distortion for most of it, but it was still enjoyable.
Haven’t properly listened to it yet though, will come back to it
No thanks. Too noisy
Another Sunday, another Jesus & Mary Chain album. Slightly disappointed that I'm going backwards in chronological order but here we are. I did buy a JMC album about 25 years ago when I used to go to the record shop and randomly buy CDs to try them out. Someone had obviously made some shoegaze/noisy recommendations to me as I also bought Loveless by My Bloody Valentine that day, which is probably unfair on JMC. Because that turned out to be a brilliant album that I loved and the JMC... got rather neglected in comparison. I quite like it, much like Darklands last week, but once again it feels a bit like they landed on one setting and stuck to it. The overall vibe is solid and I'm happy having it on in the room but I also struggled to distinguish one song from the next, and nothing stood out to me after three listens.
It was good. Although a little one note.
Este disco mi padre pensó que estaba roto o mal grabado, no concebía que sonara tan mal. Tenía ya guardada «Just Like Honey» y añado «Cut Dead». Me gusta cuando suenan como unos Joy Division pasados de vueltas en «Inside Me». Entiendo que marcaron época y hay que escucharlos, yo le voy a dar 3 estrellas, pero entiendo que a la mayoría de la gente no le guste nada.
Have on vinyl: No Fav Song: The Hardest Walk Notes: Early Shoegaze
Goth would have never happened...still, fantastic album, great sound, takes one back to an era.
This one was wild. I like the contrast between the insane amounts of distortion and dissonance and the indie-pop. Sometimes it works other times it doesn't
…..ok
Not bad but also not very exciting, this quickly fell into the background of a long drive.
It was just ok for me 2.5
enjoying this more than i thought i would, i like the music and the weird voice of the lead singer. the static sound they use in “in a hole” is shocking at first but fits the song well. the album has a calming vibe to it while using typically annoying sounds.
Not necessarily bad, but kind of repetitive and droning. Always have loved Just Like Honey-who doesn’t?- but the album had a curious feeling for me. Stressed me out reminding me of past days-embarrassing memories, and feelings of shame. Honest to god made me feel sick to my stomach. Not the album’s fault, but probably won’t listen to again. Also In a Hole was…interesting.
This might be the more responsible cousin of Kollaps. Still unhinged, but tethered to reality. I feel like I’ll need a lot more time to process this one. My initial reaction is the white noise distortion, down the hall reverb and train screeching may be too much for me. These guys are authentic and very talented, not hiding behind these effects and recording styles but using them to make what they want. Right now it’s a 3 but u have a feeling it’ll grow into a 4.
Gosh. I love the mood of this, I love the sound of it - but how many distinct songs are actually on it? Three stars because the mood is great.
Not my favorite post punk album but not bad and can see how this would influence grunge bands in late 80s and early 90s
A noisy 1980s music product with some harmonic pearls.
Phew, I was in the geothic scene myself for a while. That's when I heard the name of the band. I never consciously listened to them. I don't think I've missed much. The album sounds pretty flat and seems boring. But that's how I felt about the music of some of the bands I liked listening to back then. 3/5
At least 4 songs too long. Kudos to the originality of the time.
If you enjoy feedback, extreme distortion, and noise layered over a traditional pop melody structure, then "Psychocandy" by The Jesus And Mary Chain is an album that fulfills those expectations. The more pop-friendly tracks, such as "Just Like Honey," "Sowing Seeds," and "Something's Wrong," are likely to resonate with a broader audience. While I do not dislike the brief, chaotic bursts of distortion of other tracks, I find the transitions between songs often abrupt and jarring, particularly from "Cut Dead" to "In A Hole" — though this may be the point. As a pioneer of the shoegaze sub-genre, the album is generally decent and has very solid moments. My challenge with this album lies in trying to figure out when I would choose to listen to it. I typically have either background music, tunes for car rides, for fun gatherings with friends, mellow contemplative moods or tied to many other events. However, I struggle to find a place or time where this music could fit into my life.
Relatively easy listen rock. Not super interesting.
Lots of dissonance. Lots of noise. I don't mind it personally but I can see where it would turn people off. The production holds this back. Influential for sure. Decent but could have been better.
The album is pretty good and you can hear how influential it was on Shoegaze but difficult to enjoy. It’s impressive for a first album.
The formula is simple: take simple 50’s and 60’s rock and roll, build it on the Phil Spector “wall of sound”, turn the reverb up to 90,000% while playing on a concrete bunker, and then distort the guitars to the point that they sound like chainsaws. There lies The Jesus and Mary Chain. It’s a fun bit, and the early returns are impressive. But there’s a drawback, at least on their debut: everything starts to blend together. After about 5 songs I’m just lost in the sauce, and while there’s some standout tunes later on, it does all feel like a wash at the end of the day. It’s not bad by any means; “Just Like Honey”, “Taste the Floor” and “Sowing Seeds” are phenomenal. But maybe a few less tracks, a really tight core, could have made this album feel just right.
was not aware that they dropped an album last year. far from my favorite in the noisygaze adjacent sound but a welcome sight on this list
3 Stars (8/15)
I didn’t hate it but also only got half way through!
Distorted guitar wall of sound on top of 60s Wilson/spector pop Melodies. It’s never really been my thing even back then when I had friends at school who were into it, it seems to get to be too much for me but can appreciate it and it’s Easy to trace the influence of this on a train of music over the next 10 years. 3 Stars.
Thoughts before listening: Shoegazey European alt rock from the 90s. I've seen this album getting praised for years but never really listened much. I'm pretty sure I'll recognize a few songs. Review: So it's overly fuzzed out distorted guitars playing super poppy post-punk alt rock. It's okay. The music creates both a trance-like feeling and a wall of sound that can be a little too much for me sometimes. Allmusic says it's the Beach Boys meets the Velvet Underground which is basically spot on. 3-stars although I will be adding a few songs to the playlist.
Vaguely remembered from my youth, enjoyed hearing it again.
Never listened to the JAMC much, so just slightly familiar with them prior. Kinda reminds me of a Mad Season and Ramones mashup. Not terrible, but not something thar got me excited either.
hupsz kicsit megborult a reverb 😆
Its like New Order meet Echo and the Bunnymen. 6/10
Jesus Mary Joseph and the wee donkey chain
Weird but good. Would give 3.5
Repetitive
They say that few people bought Velvet Underground records when they were first released (1967-70) but everyone who did buy one started a band. I think this is one of those bands. Nearly every song is traceable to the VU influence. Not bad, but mostly makes me want to listen to White Light/White Heat. (In fact, I just did that…splendid.)
I remember the controversy when this came out. Beach Boy tunes with heavy distorted feedback (and riots after 25 minute sets in concert). It is important but I rarely play it. Warming.
quite grating but its interesting historically
Haven't listened through yet, but I have a feeling this is going to be one of those "one really good track" albums.
I like straight ahead wall of sound 1950’s girl group inspired pop. I dislike distorted fuzzy shoegazey noise. So I am torn when it comes to this album. I like the poppy parts and dislike the noisy parts. However, I’ve had this album recommended to me for years so I’m glad I finally actually listened to it.
The mix is sooooo thin oh my goood. It would be pretty good otherwise, but like this it's pretty unlistenable for me. Some good tunes here otherwise, but maan it hurts.
Big album for its influence and genres like Shoegaze. However, its aged rather poorly since other albums afterwards did the concept much more fleshed out and better. The soundscapes and songs are nice but there is little variety in the songs. A nice listen but not one I'd pick to listen to over something like My Bloody Valentine or Ride.
Psycho candy by the Jesus and Mary chain but it sounds like it’s being played in an empty auditorium except actually that’s just what the album sounds like
6/10. This album was somewhat of a chore to get through. The idea is cool, and it starts off nice, but it starts getting very boring over time. It's hard to focus on noise rock for an extended period of time.
Could never get into these guys. I bought 'Upside Down' but they never continued down that road and became a pop band. Shame really.
It might have been rated four stars if it hadn't buried some of the good songs in noise and distortion
Just like honey is lovely of course. Some of the harder songs I also like but in other parts I find it quite tedious. 3
I appreciate the sound and influence on artists I really like but don't actually love these songs all that much. 2.5 rounded to a 3 for influence.
Holy fuzz! You know, for punk/punk-adjacent, I kind of liked this. A little bit moany on the lyrics, but there was something about this album that must have hit me just right, cause I feel like I would normally hate this. High 3, thought about a 4 just cause it's punk.
Definitely had some noise on this one, but nothing too egregious. There were some random songs that had a surf vibe to them like Never Understand. Weird combo but kinda slaps. Serious distortion on a lot of songs as well. I actually ended up getting into a bunch of these songs. I did hate some of the production on a lot of them though. Sounded like it was recorded in a bathroom or something.
I enjoy this band but feel like they're an acquired taste, and stereo settings need to be on point, if not extra loud (in a car) to hear vocals and different instruments or else it easily goes into just noise. But it a good album
Kinda sounds like The Stone Roses meets Suicide? I wish most of the songs didn't sound the same. I might have to come back to this or another record of theirs because it sounded cool, but I gave this two shots and it kind of put me to sleep both times, nice as it was.
I've heard this band mentioned a lot so glad to finally listen. It was a cool mix of sonic youth and my bloody valentine. Also, the Lost in Translation banger Rating: 3.5
- Kannte the Jesus and Mary Chain als Wegbereiter von Shoegaze und als eifriger Post-Punk und Dark-Wave Hörer aus diesem Genre-Dunstkreis - „Just Like Honey“ ist ein meeeega geiler Track. Habe den das erste Mal im Soundtrack von Lost In Translation gehört. - „The Hardest Walk“ und „Sowing Seeds“ hatte ich auch schonmal gehört. Ansonsten alles komplett neu für mich gewesen. - Insgesamt geht mir so noiselastige Mukke oft auf den Sack. Hier hat mich das größtenteils null gestört. Bei manchen Songs hats dann aber doch echt genervt - Mochte den melancholischen Vibe seehr gern. - Einige sehr schöne Tracks dabei. - Insgesamt gute Platte mit bisschen Nervkrams Rating: 3/5
Ok, I guess
not bad but not for me
hmm, pretty good.
It's very similar to Darklands, in that a lot of the songs feel quite similar. There were at least 2 occasions where the drums kicked in and I went, "oh, it's 'Just Like Honey' again", only it's wasn't. That's not necessarily to it's detriment and I did quite enjoy this overall, just not as much as their other albums. I like the fuzz for the most part, but it does get a bit much at times. In their later albums the songs had a bit more drive to them, and they eased up on the distortion a little bit, which I think works better. I know this is proto-shoegaze, but it's more upbeat than a lot of those bands that went on to define that genre. There's actual melodies and grooves in here under all the fuzz and distortion.
Honestly pretty decent, might have to listen again when sober
not as much of my cup of tea as i expected it to be but nevertheless very good
A bit grim, no?
Just Like Honey 3.3 The Living End 3 Taste the Floor 2.7 The Hardest Walk 2.9 Cut Dead 3 In a Hole 2.6 Taste of Cindy 2.5 Never Understand 2.6 Inside Me 2.5 Sowing Seeds 2.7 My Little Underground 2.4 Your Trip Me Up 2.5 Something's Wrong 2.2 It's So Hard 2.3 Score: 2.657142857
Love the fuzz and static - but got pretty bored by the end of it. The opener Just Like Honey is truly a great song, but it's definitely the highlight of the album - Spotify playcounts support this as well. Ultimately I think that's the only track I would care to hear again. It's kind of Velvet Underground-y and gives a sneak peek at some of the noise-y rock that was coming in the early 90s.
A lot missing from YT Music
I’m at a 3. I don’t think this is necessarily a bad album – I think it’s a decent album bogged down by production choices that hinder the listening experience, but its charm manages to break through in spite of its self-sabotage. The first and most obvious thing is the reverb effects and the wall of sound – not bad in theory, as long as it’s not overused, overblown in the mix, and doesn’t actively hide the full extent of the instrumentation. So, of course, it’s overused, overblown in the mix, and actively hides the full extent of the instrumentation. The levels of reverb vary throughout the album, but there’s never a good mix on them to have an effective use that adds to the experience – far too often, all of the instruments have the same amount of reverb, so it just feels like I’m sitting in a cave. The volume of the wall of sound that permeates a good chunk of the tracks here also varies, and when it doesn’t totally take away from the vocals or percussion, it’s alright. I just don’t think it ever adds anything to any track – if there were moments where it faded in to create an ambiance or whatever, it would be fine. It just sort of shows up and never goes away, though. The second thing for me is how little of a presence the drums have, and I can’t help but feel like giving them more space to work with and turning them up a bit would’ve added so much energy to some of the tracks desperately searching for them. The same applies to the vocals at times, but my thing with the vocals is mainly that I wish the guy had a bit more emotion on a few tracks, and didn’t just sound like he was reading off a piece of paper – that’s most prevalent on “In a Hole”. The third and final thing for me is the track order – I think “Just Like Honey” sets a wildly different expectation for the tone of the album, and it never really finds a natural progression throughout. I’m not really sure what else could have started the album, but “Just Like Honey” feels like such a natural closing track to me. There’s definitely a way to tweak the track order, though. With all of that said, the album isn’t outright bad; if it were bad, I’d be presenting all of these as outright negatives as opposed to things that could be easily tweaked to create an overall better album experience. I think there’s something enjoyable here, and the framework of everything is in place. All of the charm is there, but I just feel like the production sort of kills it for me. When this album clicks, it clicks pretty well, but it only truly clicks a handful of times, in part because of that damn wall of sound diluting so much of the instrumentation. Of course, this is just my take as a “guy who likes radio-friendly production” sort of listener – I can see how this style as it is would totally click for someone all the way up to a 4 or even a 5, but for me, I’m at a 3. It’s a recommended 3, though.
Sounded like 90s alt rock
Wenn man die Lärmorgien weglässt, findet man tatsächlich einige hörenswerte Songs!
Well, I'd be a hypocarite if I didn't like this. I don't know why. But I like it. That I know. It's solid.
Always wrote this band off as "goth I'm not interested in", but it's not bad. I love the completely obliterated guitar tone and its juxtaposition to the deep and clean bass lines. Not wild about the droney almost monotone vocals, but it works with the music I guess. I defiantly prefer the faster and noisier tracks like Inside Me, but on the whole this is a pretty good album.
3.4
Blind album, know the hit and the artist. I saw this band live open for NIN actually. I thought they were okay and I wasn't much of a fan. Pretty much the same feeling of this album. It's alright. Oh well.
I have often believed that shoegaze is just hippie music dressed up as noise, and I'd say that this album embodies that notion particularly well. This album is very pretty, but it is also legendary in its sonic assault. And it works! This is an album with big, loud, rude guitars, but thy somehow never overpower vocal melodies that are disarmingly pleasant. My only complaint is that I wish the record was more dynamic. By the end of the album, the formula felt worn out, and I was dying for a reprise of "Just Like Honey" so that we could land this plane as gently as it was launched. 3/5
A hard one to rate as it’s not an easy listen for someone coming into it blind. It’s a 3 because it’s not clicked for me - it may become a 4 in the future but I can’t amend votes.
Fabulous wall of feedback
вроде поп и шугейз но потом внезапно какие-то ИГГИ Поп дуновения, нет спасибо
drawing from the Velvet Underground, Pebbles, and the Shangri-Las, a dreamy romantic blast of noise
The reverb was grating, which was annoying because under all of it I think there were some songs I might have liked.
I like it and the idea of it: extremely noisy pop songs. Execution? This record feels like it goes on forever, really dragging on "Something's Wrong". Fascinating, more than anything. Favorite track: "Inside Me"
Closer to. 3.5, pleasantly surprised
Guy singing in an abandoned airplane hangar over the sound of eighty table saws. Shiver me timbers. Pretty good once your ears adjust to the noise. Still, this is just worse Stone Roses with a lot of reverb.
Listened to this album years ago and didn't think too much of it, but I've since had Darklands on the generator and really enjoyed it, so it's interesting to come back to their debut. I thought this was better than my first listen, but the distortion is a bit OTT at times and I much prefer Darklands. Just Like Honey is a very, very good track though. Fav tracks: Just Like Honey, Taste of Cindy, Never Understand
So much better than the last shoe gazing band. At least I could understand the words and the reverb was not over bearing. I was not a huge fan of Jesus and Mary Chain though they were big in the alt scene of 80’s.
Beach boys meets sonic youth
The lo-fi sounds of Psychocandy is not for all tastes. If you like the early feedback noise of the Velvet Underground and don't think bass is an essential instrument in rock, then you might enjoy the Jesus And Mary Chain. There's nothing wrong with the album and it's very limited range of sound, and there is something interesting going on that is worth the listen. This isn't ground-breaking music by any means, but deserves credit for opening the door for the possibility that this kind of music could be popular. As I said, not for everyone, but it's doesn't sound as scary as it looks.
So Just Like Honey is fantastic, really great song and mixed well. I also really liked Cut Dead and Some Candy Talking, they all seem to have been produced by the same guy. But then it's like they got a new producer or engineer or something. The vocals are just buried and drowned completely. I like this album but whoever did the mixing didn't do them any favors. The songs are good but not recorded very well and it's kind of a shame. I'd love to hear a remix of this record that boosts the vocals and evens the rest out a bit. I think that would be a great album. It's interesting because you can totally see the influence this had on a lot of bands in the late 80s and early 90s. Giving this one a 3.5/5 but rounding down for how uneven it is. A little more attention to mixing and it would be a solid 4. Giving this one a 3.5/5 but rounding down for how uneven it is. A little more attention to mixing and it would be a solid 4.
Jaa den växte ändå på mig. Favoritlåt: The living end
That was decent enough. A lot of big sounds from the guitar and distortion. Reminds me of a tuned up Joy Division. 3/5
It started off strong with “Just Like Honey” and then became a bit generic. I would have gone for 2 stars but Just Like Honey pushed it over the edge to 3.
The songs are pretty good, but it feels like the effect that runs throughout the whole album was added after they were created to give it more ‘flavor’. It honestly makes the songs worse, anyway; I’d rather hear versions of these songs where you can focus on the vocals and melodies. btw this is better than darklands but i rated that a 4 for some reason
This was decent, a little noisy.
Weird but enjoyable
Made my teeth hurt
I was looking forward to hearing this, as I've only heard their singles in the 90s. Unfortunately, listening to it now, it sounds tired and derivative. I'm disappointed.
They say that nostalgia works in 20-year cycles, which is why there were so many different homages to the sounds and spirit of the 1960s during the 1980s. Recently, I listened to and reviewed 'Skylarking' by XTC that presented this very phenomenon - a Sgt. Pepper's for a generation growing up under Margaret Thatcher. 'Psychocandy' by the Jesus and Mary Chain is no different. A pastiche of different moods and subgenres that defined the 1960s all under a veil of harsh noise and dissonance, thereby ushering a new style of music altogether. But make no mistake: as lovely as this record is (it really is!), I'm not entirely convinced we have some true musical geniuses on our hands, though I do think it's worthwhile that they were the first to arrive at what was already a logical conclusion in the world of rock and roll. But that's about it: it was a logical conclusion that someone - anyone - was bound to make. Still, I enjoy this record! "Just Like Honey" is a wonderful album opener and one of the key tracks in 1980s alternative rock. By taking an iconic drum fill (certainly one of the most iconic from the 1960s) to prime you for an overwhelming deluge of distorted guitars is just so excellent. This is exactly the music you want to hear when you are confronted with a wide range of emotions: wistful, hopeful, melancholy, lonely; like being caught in a snowstorm and knowing it would serve as a beautiful sight if only you were inside looking out. The Velvet Underground has been cited as a key influence on this record. You hear that in spades on "Cut Dead." On streaming and on the 1986 CD release, non-album single "Some Candy Talking" is included and given that the majority of listeners on this site probably listened to this record on Spotify, I'm surprised no one has picked up on "Some Candy Talking" as an even more overt Velvets homage. Maybe it doesn't sound anything like "Candy Says" from 'The Velvet Underground' but I appreciate the attempt to create a dialogue with the band. For the Velvets, Candy is a woman who hates her body and all that it requires in the world. It's not a temple nor an avenue of pleasure like in "Some Candy Talking" but that wouldn't stop others from only viewing it as such. Bobby Gillespie (from Primal Scream!) does some wonderful drum work here, echoing the primitive sound originated by Mo Tucker. But if I were to point out the problems with this record (it's not flawless), it's that even by 1985, we could already start to see the cracks in post-punk music. By nature a derivative music genre, it's clear that The Jesus and Mary Chain just didn't have the chops to produce original musical ideas for long. "Sowing Seeds" is a rewrite of "Just Like Honey," which itself is a rewrite of "Be My Baby" by The Ronettes. Many people point out that 'Psychocandy' is the first shoegaze record, which I suppose is true. But The Cure and Cocteau Twins were already exploring the tension between pretty and ugly, between distortion and tender melodies; this just seemed like the foregone conclusion, which I have to say, would be perfected by other bands. There are some other noteworthy tracks (ie. "The Living End," "Taste the Floor") and I will concede the way in which everything blurs together is part of the musical innovation. And yet, I have to conclude this is mostly due to a lack of ideas and/or skill. Either way, this still needs to be a part of the alt-rock canon. Or 1980s canon. Or any canon, really. B+ *I'm going to note here since you can't go back and edit your past reviews (why!?) but John Grant's 'Queen of Denmark' can't be the same grade as this, so I hereby demote it to a B.
This is ok I think. Kind of like that one Arcade Fire album, I need to be in a specific mood for this. It’s just a little washy rock..
I liked this one more than I expected
3.5/5
Better than most
Just muted and depressing
A head turning sound that must have been wild in the 80s, and just smacks you in the face with a wall of noise. I think this is the kind of album that needs more than one listen, on more than one format. Every song reminds me of Heroin, and I’d normally be down for that, but on this occasion it just didn’t hit. Taste the Floor Just Like Honey
This album is why reading the little Wikipedia excerpt is really important. Without that, I would have been really disinterested in this album. But knowing that this is the beginning of Shoegaze as a genre really gives the album an air of importance. Musically, this isn't really for me. Underneath all the heavy extreme distortion, it's basically just a pop album, which is why that distortion is so important. Without it, this is honestly a really bad album. Favorite Song(s): Cut the Dead, Some Candy Talking
Always liked the pop of JMC. We played the heck out of Automatic, especially Head On. Great debut album this.
I enjoyed this mainly because the volume in my headphones was really low. The reverb and distortion are not enjoyable. Nevertheless, this is better than must of that new wave shit this list is full of.
I love the guitar sound on most of this album. I like blown out, dirty, distorted guitars. So I thought I’d really like this album. And I didn’t mind it, I like the sound of it, but the songs just weren’t there for me. I was mostly bored by the songs. The singer is not dynamic, and that’s a choice, but it just grew wearisome after about two songs.
Definitely 80's vibes. Vocals remind me of something like Joy Division or a similar group. Easily could be featured on a soundtrack to a Hughes film. 3.5
mag die band, aber leider nit ihr beates album
I'm not usually one for noise rock, but something about this album just does it for me! Yes, it's very shoegaze-y, but I think part of the reason I like this is because they incorporate a dark, kind of goth sound to their vocals and style; there is an added layer to the spacey, dreamy qualities. I would say that the album loses traction towards the end, but the majority is great! And honestly, "Just Like Honey" could pass for a modern track from one of those indie bands -- you know the ones -- where the man sings kind of low and melancholic and the woman harmonizes/repeats in a higher voice. There's definitely been some inspiration being taken from The Jesus and Mary Chain! All in all, a really strong debut from this band!
Inflytelserikt album för alternativ rock och shoegaze. Känner mig cool när jag lyssnar. Det är bara min egna preferens, men när det blir för distat och noisigt över flera låtar blir det ansträngande att lyssna. Därför är de små oaserna av lugn, som 'Cut Dead', 'Sowing Seeds', och såklart 'Just Like Honey', platserna jag njuter av mest. De noisigare låtarna, t.ex. 'In a Hole', låter som Les Rallizes Dénudés, vilket är bra (i små doser). Annars är 'Inside Me' en av de bättre av noiselåtarna. Bästa låt: Sowing Seeds
Eh, it's fine. I see how it was impactful at the time but it's just not that interesting now
Good in a small dose.
While this is not the type of music I really enjoy, it feels way ahead of its time. This has to be a precursor to shoegaze music with the distortion and effects for the guitar.
Just Like Honey Never Understand You Trip Me Up
There are definite roots of the upcoming rock scene here. Kind of rough, distortion-y, precursor to grunge and the other alternative stuff coming down the pipe. It never really grabbed me, though. I appreciate its place, but it’s not something I am likely to listen to again.
My favorite distortion preset on my guitar amp is called JAMC. I can sit down any day, switch to that preset, and it feels like a cheat code to creating a full sounding song. This is an album literally anyone can hear and immediately attempt to inject its sound into their own music. The Beatles would've gone crazy if they'd known about noise pop (they maybe kind of did on Helter Skelter). The influence Psychocandy had is obvious. From just the 1001 albums on this list alone: Nirvana, My Bloody Valentine, Dinosaur Jr, Pixies, Ride, Pavement, Smashing Pumpkins. Pretty much any band that used non-pop sounds (namely distortion and feedback) to make pop songs. Where this differs from The Human League - Dare is that while JAMC did not perfect the art of pop songwriting but they did more or less perfect the sound of noise pop. This is the intersection of no wave, The Velvet Underground, post-punk, acid rock, and psychedelia. Better songwriters (see the list above and more like Stereolab, Alvvays, Yo La Tengo, and Shinsei Kamettechan) made better songs than are on Psychocandy but it wasn't until glitch/electronic made it's way into the genre that the actual noise pop was meaningfully progressed. I'm always surprised listening to this that Just Like Honey is the big song when The Hardest Walk or Taste of Cindy or Sowing Seeds or Something's Wrong have more flavorful melodies and song dynamics. Not a knock on the track, it's just sort of plodding in comparison to the rest.
Just like honey on biisi, johon palaan (jo siis ennen tätä kuuntelukertaakin). Täydellinen tv-sarjabiisi kuten moni muukin tällä levyllä - tällä on tietynlainen tunnelma, joka toisaalta taipuu hyvin monenlaiseksi taustaksi vähän haikeista kohdista indie-bileisiin. Pidän siitä! Mutta tbh kaipaan levylle enemmän koukkuja, yksittäisiä esille nousevia täkyjä.
Weird album. Liked a few songs but overall found it hard to get into
Don’t listen to this if you have budget headphones
Pretty generic mid 80s fare. Unobtrusive and unlikely to cause me to become a fan.
3-
3.5
Alrighty. Fuzzy and dreamy but also harsh at some parts.
Both wonderful and repulsive - the apt juxtaposing titular portmanteau word suggests this confusing mix was entirely deliberate: to cajole then fry your brains. I suspect this art (or revenge) project intended to showcase (probably) a whole new sound but unfortunately added injurious screeching sounds. As if annoyed with having on audience. That’s the Borderline way of avoiding intimacy. Or airplay. So. I'm going to try to beat SarcasticElbows to the line ”this album is like the alluring girlfriend you kept going back to, only to instantly realise why you left her” Warm playful light prescient indi-grooves, but too abusive and unpredictable to enjoy as is... Surely I'm not the only one who loves some tracks but finds the rest pointless. I did enjoy - and recognise with a distant smile - "just like Honey" (feels like on essential track for the soundtrack for my 80s and 90s generation) but the really the noxious noise overlaid on many tracks means Jesus and Mary Chain are for me a new metaphor for masochism. I am frustrated by the whiplash heaven/hell experience. Interesting as metaphorical art maybe, but not as on album. Does remind me of RatCat and other stuff... so there's that. .... they must have left more than skid marks... I look forward to learning that their talent somehow was channelled successfully and they made something more than a concept album.
This album starts spectacularly with a Phil Spector/ Ronettes riff to die for & that opening track, Just Like Honey, is the record’s highlight. The other two singles released from the album are also winners - Never Understand (Jan & Dean on acid) &, particularly, You Trip Me Up. When it was released on cd, Some Candy Talking was added( it’s not on my vinyl copy) & it is also a terrific track. I’ve probably told this story before but I remember being on a holiday up at Blackheath, not long after this album was released. I’d copied it onto cassette & was listening to it in the house I was renting, when my friend Trish visited to take me to lunch. After a couple of minutes, as I was getting changed, Trish called out to me - Peter, how do you tune this radio properly? I thought their noise was a welcome change to new romantics, etc.
A few good tracks that I was aware of before this 1st album listen. There are too may samey tracks though and not the variety to make it interesting.
I really like those circular saw sound effects, feedback and other noisy elements, but I don't like the base songs. Don't think they work well together Still enjoyed it
Apparently our second from this band, could've fooled me. It's decent, it's a heavier sound for sure, but with some good melodies that cut through the noise. Middle of the road though, don't think I liked it as much as the previous. Nothing all that memorable, just like yesterday's album. Can we leave purgatory? Favorite tracks: Just Like Honey, The Hardest Walk, Never Understand. Album art: Pretty terrible in my opinion, font looks dumb, picture poses are lame too. Immediately forgettable. 3/5
Trochę jak ride, ale słabsze
Psychocandy, qu'est-ce que c'est?
Je vais être honnête, la première écoute m'a laissé plutôt de marbre. Je ne les connaissais que de réputation et savais approximativement les situer musicalement. Peut-être que ce n'était pas le bon jour parce qu'en général les grosses réverbes post-punk fonctionnent plutôt bien sur moi. Puis je me suis accrochée, convaincue de passer totalement à côté d'un truc. J'ai réécouté une fois, deux fois, trois fois, pour enfin comprendre l'idée géniale qu'il a fallue pour imbriquer des mélodies pop 60's au milieu des larsens, effets de pédales et autres riffs saturés (plus j'écoute, plus je sens l'esprit des Velvet planer au-dessus). À partir du moment où j'ai compris ça, l'influence sur leurs successeurs m'est apparue indéniable. Je ne vais mettre que 3 (idéalement 3.5) parce que j'ai lutté pour rentrer dans l'album. Je pense tout de même continuer élargir mon écoute de The Jesus and Mary Chain. Une note qui peut donc évoluer symboliquement avec le temps !
meh. though i can see where nirvana may have gotten some influnces.
Good
Ehhh I also wanted to like this more but it’s Fine
I once saw a Pitchfork review describe this album as the sound of someone cutting glass at high volume in the building next to you. True. Not my cup of tea, but at least “Just Like Honey” is a stone cold classic song.
80's Alternative Rock. I've heard of these guys but never sat down and listened to them. Very heavy distortion and reverb gives them an eerie, disconnected sound (this record anyway), with decent but basic pop tunes underneath. They remind me a little of Joy Division though less angsty. Didn't enjoy this enough to add it to the rotation but it was creative and different.
Cool vibes and I can see why it’s so influential. The songs don’t really stand out as very distinctive and the abrasiveness of the sound made it hard to listen to after awhile. It doesn’t have the warmth of later noisy bands such as mbv and Pavement.
I kind of like the Living End
Solid three for me, like most songs but there were a few duds . I’ve heard just like honey a lot and it was cool to hear the album it came from. Listened to this while driving to Florida and my step mom gave it a hard 0. Said it quote “sounded like when a microphone gets to close to a speaker at an assembly and lots of yelling.” I liked it.
Did not listen
Album was okay. this week has tired me of 80's punk. This had a weird thing going where the guitar was supper fuzzy and loud but the vocals were quiet, yet the vocals were still way in front of the mix. It's kind of jarring. But overall nothing really popped out at me but I could see the merit of what they were trying to do so that bumps it up a point. Highlights: Cut Dead Its So Hard
I liked most of this. The worst part was the screeching on You Trip Me Up; I had to basically mute it at that point. Overall a decent album. 3/5
I listened to this album first thing in the morning and by the evening couldn’t remember anything about it ! It wasn’t terrible, just not memorable. Low 3*
On the one hand, this album opened the door for lots of shoegaze and Scottish indie music which I really enjoy. On the other hand, its inclusion on the list forces me to acknowledge the existence of East Kilbride.
Crunchy 80s stuff
Fuzzy!
i expected to like this more than i did. a couple good songs but otherwise sort of forgettable
This is one you gotta ease into, but once you let the noise wash over you it's not so bad. Don't really need the underlying poppy elements though. Inside Me was the best song. 3 sticks of mascara out of 5
worth a listen. one. the noise didn’t sound integral to the music. it sounds tacked on. unlike MBV where the noise shimmers and i hear different things each time, TJAMC noise is a solid veil that i tried to hear through. some good tunes and i love simple pop tunes as much or more than the next guy but not enough to make me listen again.
Interesting but back ground noise mostly. The reverb or background fuzz of the guitar. I get it but not a huge fan.
Meh. I liked the distortion and the general vibe, but it didn’t really do anything for me.
An ok new wave album. Sounds muddy to me. Not sure why it's on the list. Not essential as far as I'm concerned.
I love “Just Like Honey.” I first heard it at the end of the movie “Lost in Translation” and it’s a perfect bittersweet soundtrack for that ending. There are a few more melancholy type songs on this album but most of the music here is fuzzed out and distorted to the max. Some of it borders on punk but even the midtempo song are abrasive. It’s a cool, bold style. I want to love this album but right now I just like it. Not a lot of songs stuck out to me and sometimes it’s even tough to hear the songs when they’re buried under this much feedback.
This band has always been on the bubble for me, I've heard the name of the band so many times throughout my life but never stopped to listen. I like the sound overall. It's 1980's in the reverb and space, but it's 1990's in the distortion and grungey, loose performances. Both of which combine together to make a cool sound, and one that I think I would naturally gravitate towards. I enjoyed the listen. I'm certain I'll check out more releases from the band. It's not a super memorable one for me though, as I think the production, tones, and performances are way more interesting than the compositions. Unfortunately for them it's usually music that has better compositions that tend to stick around for me.
Son mejores de lo que esperaba, pero el shogaze y yo no congeniamos.
Psychocandy is a decent enough listen but not quite for me, particularly the echoey vocals, I just don't like the style and struggle to make out a lot of what they're signing about. A shame really, because the energy and drive of the guitar is great, hugely atmospheric and epic in places, consistent but diverse enough that we don't end up with songs full of the same sound and an album full of identical songs. The whole experience comes together well in the way that they clearly wrote it to deliver, but it's the vocal side that doesn't let me really enjoy it. A solid 3.
very 80s. not my fav but i enjoyed
This album predates alternative rock, and I'm sure it predates shoegaze. Those two genres combined is what I'm hearing. A wall of white noise with distorted guitars and soft vocals. Over all, it was pretty interesting. I enjoyed the most of it. Vocals had a Cure feel to them in some songs. Not a terrible listen. Felt like I was listening to a genesis of two distinct genres that are well known to this day. So that was pretty cool.
Shoegazing All-Stars The Jesus and Mary Chain are back on my list again and are still the cream of the crop of a genre I'll always be middling on. I appreciate that most of the tracks are right about 3 minutes or under, which keeps the droning feeling that can develop from being an issue. Highlights - Just Like Honey, Taste the Floor, The Hardest Walk, Taste of Candy
Some sounds gone through.
The album was not available in the US via Apple Music. Listened to a couple of songs. Not my jam.
Oohh litt både og
Really dug this one. It's not great but you can definitely hear how it served as an influence for grunge.
sounds like an album I'd have on a tape in the 80s. a copy of a copy from someone who recorded it off vinyl. likely by holding a tape recorder to a speaker. one side of a 90 minute cassette with some other band I never learned the name of on the other side. here's a haiku about it: plastic magnet sound the jesus and mary chain gray days with walkman
Unique but too noisy for a whole album. I knew the first song which I loved.
Ngl they all started to blend together after a bit. There was a point where I checked to see if I'd accidentally skipped back to a previous song
Appreciate the post punk with the distorted guitar. Cool baselines in the background. If Joy Division had electric guitars. Also Lost in Translation soundtrack music so cool. But while good, some of the songs are a bit samey, so three stars.
There is so much distortion on everything I can barely hear the melodies. I like that they look like Minecraft YouTubers.
Muy bien
New wave punky, didn’t majorly grab me though
interesting album. i listened to it twice and must not have been paying much attention because every song just kinda faded to background noise. i liked a handful of them but some of the grating sound effects just didn't land for me. favorites: just like honey, the hardest walk, taste of cindy
1987 - Alternative rock; Shoegaze; Indie rock; Post-punk; Noise pop; Indie pop
I loved the style for the first few tracks, but it never really changed much. I'm all for gritty guitar tones but I think this one is a bit much sometimes. If this was any longer it would lose more points.
It’s fine. Don’t ever need to hear it again. 3/5
Not my music.
Oh these guitars
The Jesus and Mary Chain are a band that I have heard of, and I can remember the approximate time when they were probably getting some radio play, but I can't tell you if I've ever heard anything form the band. I was assuming that I wouldn't like this album from old memories but there were some things to like. At times the tracks on Psychocandy seemed like they would fit in well with Echo and the Bunny Men, a band I like, but there is more grind and buzz to the sounds on Psycho candy. TJAMC uses background noise like a fuzzy drone paired with griding guitars, which make a curious contrast against the soft delivery of the vocals. Unfortunately for me, I can only put up with so much noise and static. I did like some tracks, but with the constant background noise throughout the album I couldn't have told you if I hadn't heard the next track earlier on the album or not. I could listen to some tracks, but not the whole album again.
Just Like Honey The Hardest Walk Sowing Seeds
Slightly better than okay.
I liked the first track
A band named as a major influence for a ton of bands I really like, yet I never got into them. This sounds like something that would grow on me. I’ll need to give it a better listen as my preferred streamer didn’t have it available and the youtube video’s sound quality was questionable.
Very fuzzy sometimes a little too much. You’ve heard one song here you have basically heard the whole thing.
I didn't like this as much as Darklands. I can appreciate a lot of the experimentation on this album though, they are clearly just trying things out and taking them to the extreme. Sometimes the distortion is just a wash of noise, which reminds me of an unhinged version of what Medicine would be doing in the 90's, and at least one of the songs doesn't have a guitar part other than just controlled feedback. All in all it made for an interesting listen.
Didn't think much of this overall. It wasn't bad, but wasn't especially good either. It reminded me of like Velvet Underground mixed with... The Cramps?, at least tonally. The vocals were sorta boring. Just not a lot here to hold my interest. Still, if this was on, I wouldn't be upset. 2.75/5
CW for the album: very high pitched noises. In one of his long deleted videos, former Pitchfork-scribe Chris Ott described the social purpose of noise pop and shoegaze: to create a space where the shy, introverted people could enjoy and celebrate pop music, without the baggage that popular music entails. It's a very romantic and intimate music, but also in a way that intensely filters anyone not interested in appreciating its idiosyncracies, and the pop stars will not try to invite you; you will have to find your way in. The Jesus and Mary Chain wanted to be popular, or at least their manager hyping them up and their trolling interview with Belgian tv presenter Bart Peeters (in which they bullied him for liking Joy Division) say so. But listening to the album, you might be wondering if they're actually serious. It's has loud ass feedback and high-pitched noises that would make the Sex Pistols sound like quaint background music. Yet, The Jesus and Mary Chain still use sweet and short bubblegum pop as their building blocks, making a Ramones-comparison more apt. The album sounds indeed like the ethos of shoegaze: make the catchiest music imaginable, but only for those willing to climb the wall of noise. Or at least, that's the platonic ideal of shoegaze. In practice, the album is very basic in both its pop melodies and noise sounds. In terms of the latter, the album kinda relies on its high pitched feedback a bit too much, so that it sometimes sounds like an exhausting crutch. On the pop side, a lot of the melodies can be very basic and not memorable after you're done listening to the song. It also doesn't help that Just Like Honey is just the perfect song on earth, sounding as sweet and romantic as the sweet natural product in its title. Still, there are also some great fast punk songs to offsets these weaknesses from time to time, like Taste the Floor. And as a reminder not to take this all too seriously, It's So Hard shitposts the album to a close. It's not hard to see how this album became so influential, not just for the development of shoegaze, but for the broader marriage of the two polar opposities of approachable pop and impenetrable attitude, that is taken more for granted today. Still, that's a lesson that's sometimes forgotten; I see older generations who were there to see the Jesus and Mary Chain live completely forget this lesson when they see younger ~~and queer cough~~ artists for a younger generation. Not everything has to be for you, if you vibe with it that's cool, if not just leave as fast as possible, if the noises haven't chased you away yet. Strong 3, light 4
I don’t really care for the gazing at shoes genre, but this was pretty decent. Won’t be revisiting it though.
I thought it was...good. They throw in a number of different genres - new wave, rock, punk, pop. Decent album that takes you in many different directions.
I hadn’t heard of this band, but they are apparently influential. I liked this alright.
Good