Psychocandy

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

Not a fan of the vocals

mah

It sounded unlistenably bad but the first song was ok

Ella is incredible, but this one is 4 discs too long.

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

I guess excessive guitar feedback was revolutionary in 1985. In 2025, this sounds like some lame emo garage band destined to go triple plastic.

While I can appreciate what The Jesus and Mary Chain brought to music, I don't really like it.

Similar sounding songs, over-reverbed lyrics, differentiated only by the different type of feedback in the background. Just noise. I can't see how it has influenced anyone (though some of the vocal sound did remind me of Stone Roses a few years later) I complain that I don't get enough 1 star albums, and then I get 2 over the course of a long weekend. Careful what you wish for.

Эталонный нойз-поп. Музыка не должна быть идеальной и сложной, чтобы цеплять. Лучшая песня - Just Like Honey.

Gear: ZMF Bokeh Artwork: 🖤🥁🔲 Production: 🔊😵‍💫🤢 Music: 🌀🖤🕯️ Rating: 🍬(🍬)/5

Look, I really wanted to like Psychocandy but when the production is just this bad, i gotta dock major points from this album. I am no stranger to noise rock as i have listened to many of those types of albums through this project but i have never seen them have production that is this low quality. Its a real shame too because there are things i like about this album. There are some decent ideas with the guitars and the vocals and it is a good thing this album isn't very long so it never got unbearable to listen to but i can not get over this production. This album isn't horrible but i just am having a really tough time recommending this to even noise rock fans since the production here is so bad and makes awful ringing noises and when there are just far better albums like this. Best Song: Just Like Honey Worst Song: It's So Hard

80’er indierock, ok melodier, lidt irreterende lyd

The album was cool, I didn’t necessarily enjoy the distortion for most of it, but it was still enjoyable.

i didn't know how what to expect going into this one, as my other experience with tjamc was fairly middling. i'm sure because of the amount of noise on this one, it's not very widely popular, but what i was really taken by upon listening to this one is the songwriting. really catchy stuff, reminiscent of a lot of pop-rock that has come before it. hooky and fun! like i said, i suspect the sound here is going to be something that most people dislike, but i liked it here. i would definitely listen again!

Such a shame that I wasn't introduced to this band until hearing them in Lost in Translation.

Good album 8 out of 10

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.

for me this was completely forgettable

It was good. Although a little one note.

Did not like lyrics and music a downer.

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.

Sounded like a dreary sixth form band playing music in a vase.

It was alright, not much of something I'll remember.

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.

There was something in the first half, albeit with the tinge of a cover band. Then it leapt into self-indulgent eternity. I wonder if they ever got out of their own way (tho not enough to seek out more!)

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

Pretty good post punk

With a deft touch, the Reid brothers pushed the boundaries of what is included in music. The resonant baths of of fuzz and feedback this album contains while maintaining a hopeful tone is the definition of Shoegaze, and has a huge impact on the many Pot-rock bands that will begin popping up in the 90's

I had heard a few songs from this album before. They're good but the style makes it all sound really similar. I thought I'd like this more than I ended up with.

Having heard Just Like Honey before and really liking it, I thought I would like the rest more than I did. I tend to like some noise based music, but this was making me very anxious. There are some interesting songs inside, but I don't have the energy to find them anymore.

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.

Oh hell yeah. I feel like music or art that you come across at random just hits different than when something comes recommended by an algorithm or marketing. Not sure if this is true for others. BUT, in keeping with my somewhat spasmodic approach to art and life, I for some reason bought this CD in like 2004 when I was 14, in America, having never heard any music even of this genre and time period and part of the world before, for no reason other than I saw it in a CD store and thought it was a cool band name and cool album title. Brought it home and fucking loved it. The surly creepiness of the vocals. The huge, jangling chords. The sparse but haunting rhythms. I tried to write like 5 songs based on the 'Just like honey' drum intro, but it never really worked. Really curious to hear the groups thoughts on this - I can't be objective because I just remember 14 year old Frank (Spike at the time) feeling like I was the only person in the world to hear of this strange, menacing music, and that I didn't have to share it with anyone. "Eating up the scum is the hardest thing for me to do" - I had a feeling this was sexual when I first heard it but had no idea what it could possibly mean. I still don't. But every so often, for no reason, I'll hear that lyric in my head at random times. Doing the dishes. Driving down the street. Trying to make a point in an important meeting. Eating up the scum is the hardest thing for me to do. The brain is weird.

Like most people, I only knew Just Like Honey and absolutely love that song Psychocandy is really interesting for its time and definitely one that I want to come back to. The sounds are original and honestly not as abrasive as the reviews for this suggest I liked Sowing Seeds

I don't usually read other reviews before writing my own, but when I saw Frank gave this a 5, I had to look. I love that this is a nostalgia album for you - I really thought this would be more "pedophile music" - you renaissance man. I only knew Just Like Honey coming into this - great song. I guess these guys sound a little like other bands of their time - Replacements, the Smiths, the Cure - but just such a unique sound - I do love it. The Hardest Walk, Taste of Cindy, Never Understand, You Trip Me Up, Something's Wrong. This whole thing sounds like generic 90s tunes - like something you could play to open a multicam sitcom - but then the songs got thrown into a blender. You know where all of these songs are going, but you have to run through the mud to get there. I've listened to this album 3 or 4 times now, but definitely warrants some more spins - a grow-er not a show-er, if you will. I still have one more Cocteau Twins album in my queue, so I think I'm going to stay in Scotland a bit longer today.

Wow. I loved this. I'd only heard a few tracks from it before. This will now go in the rotation. I know people are hating on the feedback but for me that just lends awesome texture to pretty standard 60s pop sound. A great update to an older style.

One of the rare debuts where one wonders how they Did That on the first try. Fewer songs than one thinks have the table saw guitar. So trebly. Such songs.

I fucking love the noise. This album sounds like me trying to listen to a regular album at work, where every machine is fully running at the same time. 2nd half of this album is really strong

The dynamic of the sound of this music is so confusing. The background guitars are screeching and constant and overwhelming. The vocals? Underwhelming. Like even the lyrics match the instrumental like this should be hard and loud and badass, talking about girls and riding motorcycles but then the vocals are so soft and quiet? It doesn’t go well together.

Honestly this did not live up to our expectations.

Psychocandy is iconic post-new wave / proto-shoegaze — there's enough reverb to dream in, enough fuzz to spark the imagination. With all that reverb and fuzz they take the simplicity of Motown R&B and run it through the Velvet Underground’s nihilistic haze. The Jesus and Mary Chain created something that to my ear is both a wash of nostalgia and an abrasive, inspiring look to the future. Nearly 40 years later, it’s a beautiful, sometimes detached and sometimes sneering mess that feels just as essential as when I was sitting in my room drawing a picture of these two from some glossy magazine photoshoot for Jr. High School art class while the cassette rolls on.

Classic

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.

Noise! Some of the good kind, have to be in the right mindset for this one. Appreciate the influence

Classic shoegaze. But not as noisy s it was perceived at the time

The combination of wall of sound, surf and shoe gaze magic is simple and masterful.

Not my favorite post punk album but not bad and can see how this would influence grunge bands in late 80s and early 90s

Starts off like any other average 80s alt rock album, but Taste the floor has white noise covering the whole song making it hard to hear, and several other songs are similarly noisy because of the amount of feedback used. It’s a good album to include on this list because the experimental, borderline psychedelic sound influenced shoegaze, but it’s not a good album by itself.

You won’t regret tasting this dark candy! 🍬😵‍💫 Another stunner of a surprise with this album, as my only familiarity with The Jesus & Mary Chain had been the Pixies cover of Head On (off their 1989 release, Automatic) and that the opening track on this one (Just Like Honey) was played during the end scene of the movie Lost in Translation. For some reason I was assuming this band would be sounding something akin to The Psychedelic Furs…boy was I wrong! Distorted guitars over bubblegum pop…think beach boys meets the velvet underground for a match made in abrasive heaven. What a truly gorgeous record. Aptly titled as these otherwise simplistic pure pop songs are shrouded in vitriolic guitar noise rock edge, resulting in far more interesting darker sound textures. Obvious core influence to the wave of 90’s Shoegaze and dream dream pop, with the likes of My Bloody Valentine being heavily indebted to the layered soundscapes that were masterfully created across these 14 tracks. It is astounding what young fearless musicians have the ability to create by not catering to the artistic norms of the time, which we continue to see shape and mold how musical genres evolve. 🎧 Classic Track: Just Like Honey 🎧 Deep Cut Gem: My Little Underground 🎧 Personal Favorite: The Hardest Walk The record also doesn’t overstay its welcome across the lengthy track list, timing in under 40 minutes! 🖼️ Album Artwork: ❌ would’ve been more effective minus images of the band members 💿 Absolutely worthy of holding a place in your vinyl collection! Click the thumbs up icon below if you enjoyed my take on the album :)

A noisy 1980s music product with some harmonic pearls.

Great album. Only marking it down to four star because there isn’t much variety and I swear two songs reuse the same drum line

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

The reverb and sustained fx pedals was a little too unbearable. I don’t mind this band, just this combination.

At least 4 songs too long. Kudos to the originality of the time.

I generally like shoegaze but only knew Just Like Honey. This album is noisy yet somehow laid back. I dig it. Never Understand and Sowing Seeds are my standout picks after one listen, and I'm gonna go with a light 4 on this one.

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.

crunchy and dreamy

Not for me, and will be the lowest score I've given so far!

Sounds like the bottom of a bar bathroom and I love it.

The Jesus and Mary Chain is what you get if you take everything I listened to in the 90s in the amount I listened to it and put it in a blender.

Relatively easy listen rock. Not super interesting.

Meh, kinda flavorless.

Needs more distortion lmao.

That was the longest 42 minutes of my life. Literally hurt my ears. Whoever mixed this album shouldn’t be able to touch a mixing board ever again.

I really, really enjoy "Darklands" but The Jesus And Mary Chain's "Psychocandy" is simply too abrasive on the ears. Would rank higher but there's a line drawn b/w experimental and disruptive, and the gritty reverb crosses that line. ⚠ Would not recommend to sensitive ears and/or people with tinnitus. That goes for all shoegaze albums. Proceed with care.

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.

This album kind of kicked my ass. Great sense of mood, thoughtful use of noise, and the obscured vocals work. I feel like I'm in a different place when I listen to it. And damn, they can write a hook--they have a 60s pop, Spector-minded approach to their arrangements that really works for me.

I can't believe I got 5 albums from repeat artists in a row. Throughout the past 5 days, I've gotten my 3rd Nick Cave album, my 2nd Pogues album, my 3rd Tom Waits album, my 5th David Bowie album, and now, my 2nd (and final) album from The Jesus and Mary Chain. However, I'm not complaining for one simple reason. I've really liked all of these albums, and Psychocandy is no different. This album's pretty good! I think I actually liked Darklands a bit more, but Psychocandy is still great, just in a different way. Psychocandy is a considerably noisier album and is seen by many as a landmark album in the development of what would eventually become shoegaze. However, this album takes the noise and blends it with some classic pop elements to make a very interesting album to listen to. It's a good interesting though. I like the style. Some parts are a bit too noisy for my taste, but I think the album as a whole is mostly good about this. Besides, I can't really complain too much when this album helped revolutionize this sort of music in the first place. The Velvet Underground influence is also pretty strong, which I can't complain about either because I also really like the Velvet Underground. I do feel that this album peaks a bit early, with its best song easily being the opener, "Just Like Honey." The singing fits the vibe well, and the writing is very solid. This is one of those albums that I think I respect more than I actually enjoy. I could definitely see it growing on me a bit in the future though. Good album. 4/5.

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.

I feel like this had potential but really missed the mark. Wasn’t a fan of this one

In the words of DJ Khaled, “Another one”. I just didn’t understand the point of this, like it wasn’t instrumentals that pleased my ears and why was the singing so quiet?? Dumb. Couldn’t get through it

Didn’t make me wanna burst my ear drums but not good

This has potential. If they had dialed the static and guitar feedback down like 70% and unmuffled the singer, the stuff underneath wasn't bad. But as it stands, some of the songs were hard to listen to. Also, I'm pretty sure Mimi won an album by this band ~30 years ago in a church raffle and had no idea it wasn't religious music.

Love a rock album with some actual texture. Deadpan vocals mix with the guitars very nicely as well.

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've had an album by these knobs before. They're Scottish (which is synonymous with terrible fucking music I've learned), and shoegaze (one of the worst and most unnecessary genres in music). One of their songs, In a Hole, made me literally take my earbud out and check to see if it had blown. It was just distortion and noise. Why the fuck would someone consider this music?!? And why do these idiots have 2 albums on this list? Favorite songs: Cut Dead, The Hardest Walk Least favorite songs: Taste the Floor, In a Hole, It's So Hard....and the rest of this shitty album 1/5.....just......NO......

This album was underwhelming. Too much distortion and reverb for my liking. This feels like a filler album.

Did the distortion knob get stuck on 11 for this album? It's overbearing and ridiculously annoying for most of the album. For the tracks where you're not getting sonically abused by that the standard 80s pop songs are OK.

Así como La Beriso es Callejeros sin gracia ni acordes, esto es The Cure sin gracia ni acordes. Lo la men to Nota:1.8

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.

Excellent album, creative musical ideas throughout

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.

Great on places

hupsz kicsit megborult a reverb 😆

Damn fine noisy rock/pop. Take some 60s pop rock - slap a ton of fuzz, reverb, and feedback on it and make the vocals real stoner-y - and voila, you have Psychocandy. Hooky melodies under a wall of trebly guitar noise. It’s quite pleasant and abrasive. It’s quite wonderful.

Need more reverb!!!! In all seriousness though they have some awesome pop songs layered beneath lots of noisy reverb. I thoroughly enjoyed this album.

Man, I liked this The Jesus and Mary Chain album so much more than the last one. I really love the elements of noise rock, shoegaze and punk but all kind of under the guise of 50s rockabilly. Its really cool and interesting. Songs like "Just Like Honey" are so smooth and feel like 50s rock but heavier and noisier. Its surprising how clean this record sounds for how fuzzy it really is. My only complaint is that the trick kind of wears off about 2/3s of the way through. This could have been 3 songs short. I really enjoyed this!

A falta que um biotonico fontoura faz para as crianças escocesas. Até teve umas músicas que deu para aproveitar, como Just Like Honey, Taste The Floor e Never Understand. Mas de modo geral eu vou pular esse album em próximas ouvidas.

que barulheira

Its like New Order meet Echo and the Bunnymen. 6/10

When they recorded this album did they double check that the guitars were plugged in properly.

Perfect for the soundtrack to an 80s movie I'll never make 👍

Iconic album. Solid front to back

My second Jesus and Mary Chain album! It rules, I may even like it more than darklands

The best thing I listened to today, which isn’t saying much. High 2.

Jesus Mary Joseph and the wee donkey chain

Weird but good. Would give 3.5

Pretty good and eerie sounding

that’s much better than what I’ve expected from a 1985 album that is trying to blend pop and noise. Post punk sounding vocals, hypnotic guitar noises and catchy pop melodies. Great album

Repetitive

Boring alternative rock at its best and abrasive distortions at its worst. Just a very colorless album that did not grab me in the slightest outside of being annoying.

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.)

You have to have a certain level of commitment to the band to join them in their exploration and exploitation of sound, dissonance, distortion, etc., and I realize that I cannot join Jesus and the Mary Chain as they engage in their work/art. Sadly, I believe there was a time in my life where I certainly would have. Glad I listened, but I cautiously wait for their next album.

i have ambivalent feelings about this album. some songs are just horrible and unlistenable. the rest kinda slaps!! my favs: the hardest walk, cut dead, taste of cindy, sowing seeds.

Highlight: Just Like Honey In a nutshell: needs more noise. The beginnings of shoegaze can be seen here. Maybe there is some audio-osmosis going on because I think Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr were playing around with noise rock around this time. Overall: 4/10

2.5

mmm demasiado ruido, demasiada repetición, demasiada distorsión.

The Jesus and Mary Chain is another post-punk/shoegaze band I've heard a lot about but haven't really listened to other than a song here and there. I enjoyed this album and have listened to it a few times since. That said, I know they're a hugely influential band, but I'm not sure if I really *get it.* Maybe it's because I wasn't there in 1985 when it probably sounded revolutionary, but to me it just kind of sounds like Joy Division's music with Echo and the Bunnymen's lyrics and the distortion turned up to 11. I guess it was innovative to put all those things together at the time, but to a 90s kid like me it just sounds like normal rock music (with a lot of feedback). In terms of the distortion and effects, I enjoyed this album more than MBV, because there are still strong melodies and hooks underneath the noise. There are moments where it's a lot, though — "Taste of Cindy" and "Never Understand" are a little painful to listen to with all the high-pitched feedback. And it tracks that these guys are Scottish, because the noise sometimes resembles bagpipes. All in all, it's a good album and I'll probably listen to it in the future (but probably not on headphones — god, that was a mistake). I'll probably check out some of their other stuff too. I'll give them their flowers for influencing the shoegaze genre, but I'm still not totally sold on it. 4/5

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

When this album first popped up, I thought it was either going to be a Metal album, a Christian album, or both. Unfortunately, it's something much worse. It's background noise drowning out the vocals on every track of this agonizing experience. One of the worst albums I've ever heard. Favorite Track: "Sowing Seeds".

This one is not heavy at all, still so damn hard to listen

Haven't listened through yet, but I have a feeling this is going to be one of those "one really good track" albums.

I did not like this at all

truly awful, so many songs I couldn't even sit through because they were way more stressful than enjoyable. like the horror movie of music

Nothing to see here but incessant, irritating noise.

Considering this came out in 1985, it feels so modern and fresh. A surprising hit with me.

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.

Bit of a let down to be honest. There were a couple of good tracks but In A Hole was just unpleasant to listen to.

Very solid throughout 4/5

15/1089 - Not my style of music for sure but the guitar playing is good (voice is not since it keeps the same quality for the entire record). It makes sense why it was influential.

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.

Man, did they record this with a static TV blaring in the background? It started off fine, but Taste The Floor was hard to listen. Hated the mumbling vocals there. The following song was less intense, but then the fuzz returns in a bad way with In A Hole. Sowing Seeds was probably my favorite track of the album. This album isn't all bad, but some of the songs here are brutally bad, at least in my book. It's enough to knock it down to a 2.

Hard to distinguish one song from another, a reasonably decent idea for a song stretched across an entire album

My first encounter with Psychocandy was a disaster. Through my laptop’s tinny speakers, it sounded like noise for noise’s sake—a band hiding behind feedback. Then I saw the reviews. People called the distortion intentional, even essential. So I gave it another shot, this time with proper headphones. Suddenly, sweet, almost bubblegum melodies started cutting through the chaos. I’d already heard Just Like Honey, and if that’s the most “accessible” track here, that’s saying something. But it deserves respect. Then, everything clicked. Taste of Cindy and Cut Dead stood out, but nothing here drags the album down. The more I listened, the more I heard its fingerprints on bands like My Bloody Valentine and Dinosaur Jr.—the alternative acts I’d go on to worship. Psychocandy isn’t an album to put on while sipping tea with your grandparents—but then again, neither are most of the records I love.

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

Meh. I’m all for blending scuzzy noise and dreamy melodies as a concept, and if these guys were the first to do it then that’s something, I guess. But the actual songs are so average, and so samey. I gave TJAMC the benefit of the doubt on my Darklands review, but not this time.

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.

Fuckin great shoegazy album

Just what the doctor ordered today.

I feel like I've heard music from The Jesus and Mary Chain that I liked more than this? But maybe I'm thinking of a different band. This wasn't awful, but I'm not a huge fan of noise rock. I can see the value in something like this being on the list, but I didn't like it all that much.

Could never get into these guys. I bought 'Upside Down' but they never continued down that road and became a pop band. Shame really.

I listened to this on a car stereo first, and was a bit underwhelmed. I listened again with headphones and it was a different experience. I prefer the sound they have on “Just Like Honey” and “Sowing Seeds” over songs like “In a Hole” but it was good stuff overall.

Was never really a fan of this band

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

Another group I have heard of but knew nothing about. Did not really hear anything extraordinary. Punk-ish groove.

Wat een fucking herrie. Blijkbaar is dit noiserock? Ik weet niet wat het is, maar als je je genre zelf al herrie noemt is er toch echt iets aan de hand. Wil je nou zelf noiserocker worden? Het is heel simpel! Je maakt de meest generieke Indiepoprock die je kan bedenken, heel belangrijk! Het moet echt ontzettend generiek zijn, dus niemand moet zich hierdoor aangesproken voelen. Gedaan? Ok top, nu moet je net iets na de helft het nummer COMPLEET VERNAGGELEN. Verpest je gitaar, stel je microfoon kut af en vooral ook R E V E R B! Het is nu belangrijk dat je echt kut muziek maakt, het moet niet te luisteren meer zijn! Is je dat ook gelukt? Heb je het opgenomen en iemand gek genoeg gevonden om het uit te geven? Top! Nu zal over een jaar of 40 een nietsvermoedende muziekfan zijn ochtend compleet verkloot zijn omdat je troep om de een of andere reden word opgenomen in een 1001 albumlijst. FAVO: Het einde, ik word hier actief kwaad van.

Love this band and this masterful and highly influential album. They perfectly capture that 60s pop rock sound with just the right amount of fuzz. While Darklands may be more polished with slightly stronger songwriting, this album's raw edge gives it a special charm of its own.

Love love love this record. Fuzz-pop-proto-shoe-gaze-noise-rock… I don’t care what bucket this is put in, it’s brilliant distorted glory.

I should have listened to this earlier. I really enjoyed this album.

I think this might be my favorite The Jesus and Mary Chain album. I love the fuzz in the guitars mixed with dreamy pop. Love this album.

Had to stop listening after a few songs. The music gave me a headache.

I found this largely unlistenable, its got too much just noise and it was a struggle to vibe with

Well this was just awful... loud screeching noise for an hour. Cool. But exactly what I expected from 1985 Psychocandy...

skemmtilegt, hrátt og grófar upptökur. ég vil meira, sei sei já.

Any song seems to be squashed by the distortion. It's so distracting and ultimately annoying.

Noisy pop rock: a fairly simple formula that became massively influential to alt-rockers everywhere. And it's a good time.

Great album. Picks up where echo and the bunnymen left off

If an album gives me a headache I give it one star, ‘nuff said.

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.

I like being reminded that Nirvana didn’t come out of nowhere. Bands like Jesus and Mary Chain (and others) were steadily paving the way. Great listen.

Indie Rock with blown out guitars which give a dry brightness, providing a fuzzy texture that swallows up most other contrasts in the middle while the songs themselves are simple, happy and poppy, almost 1950s bubblegum. Unfortunate combination for me.

Det var en jävla skillnad på det här albumet och Darklands

Never heard this one before, although I was familiar with the band. It's pretty good.

Went through this album on three separate occasions, but never as a focal point. Even so, I can easily say this is high 4 low 5 territory for me. Something about the noise pop meets post punk combined with some really really nice compositions just works wonders here. This is one of those albums where any individual song doesn't stand alone particularly well, but as a whole album it just clicks.

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.

Too much noise and whining from the singer for me. Just all sounded like one melted together song

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.

A precursor to Brit Pop with a Scottish flair that doesn't quit.

Started off really strong. Really incredible song into one of the worst on the album. Wasn’t a bad song, just not where their strength lies. They thrive with a mellower song. Not necessarily slower, but softer. It did seem like they were trying to replicate “Just Like Honey” on some other songs like, “Sowing Seeds” and “You Trip Me Up”. They starts to feel like a bit of a one trick pony by the end of it. Not one bad song, though. Thoroughly enjoyed the whole album. 4/5

Saw them live in 2024 - fuzzy brilliance.

I enjoyed this honestly a lot more than I expected. I didn’t really know what to expect but it was a fine album. Probably not something I’d go back to but I can see why people love it. Really probably a 3.5. The instrumentation is great.

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

- komischer Sound, klingt alles wie im Badezimmer oder einem Hallenbad aufgenommen, why so viel Reverb?! - was haben die mit ihren weirden Hintergrundgeräuschen? Ist mir am Ende bei "You Trip Me Up", "Something's Wrong" und "It's So Hard" aufgefallen. Keine Ahnung, ob ich das vorher überhört / weggefiltert habe beim Coden.. aber holy ging mir das auf den Sack

Ok, I guess

Tak powinno się robić albumy, w których brzmisz jakbyś miał wyjebane (take fucking notes HMS Fable...). "Beach Boys melodies meet Velvet Underground feedback and beats, all cranked up to ten and beyond, along with plenty of echo" - myślę, że to najlepsze podsumowanie tego albumu, jakie można znaleźć. I z tej samej recenzji o jednym utworze, ale można tak powiedzieć o całym albumie imo: "Storming down like a rumble of bricks wrapped in cotton candy". Konceptualnie i intelektualnie mi się to podoba. Artystycznie nie jest to do końca mój styl i po dwóch przesłuchaniach jestem odrobinę zmęczony, ale w gruncie rzeczy bardzo szanuję ten album. Nie sądzę, żebym go zbyt często słuchał w przyszłości, ale po krótkim namyśle jednak pójdę w 4.

I choked myself a little bit to get high and enjoy this album more. It gets my highest score of 'I want to take drugs and listen to it'/10. And also numerical value of 4 stars as I think there are albums that go in that direction but are also better.

Gitary przesterowane do granic możliwości dominują każdy utwór, tworząc ścianę dźwięku, która na pierwszy rzut ucha wydaje się nieprzystępna. Ale w tym hałasie kryje się piękno – głęboko ukryte melodie, które ujawniają się z każdą kolejną chwilą. "Just Like Honey", otwierający utwór, to idealny przykład – subtelna linia perkusji, melancholijne wokale i prosta, lecz urokliwa melodia wciągają jak powolna, nostalgiczna fala. Album balansuje między ostrą agresją a słodkim, niemal popowym wdziękiem. "The Living End" czy "In a Hole" eksplodują energią i dzikością, podczas gdy "Cut Dead" lub "Sowing Seeds" ukazują bardziej refleksyjną, niemal delikatną stronę zespołu. Ten kontrast jest esencją "Psychocandy" – zestawienia ekstremów, które tworzą unikalną całość. Pod względem produkcji album jest celowo surowy, a jego brzmienie jest zarazem retro i futurystyczne. Inspiracje zespołem The Velvet Underground czy Beach Boys są wyraźne, ale przefiltrowane przez buntowniczą wrażliwość lat 80., co nadaje całości świeżości i oryginalności. Choć nie wszystkie utwory są równie niezapomniane, a intensywna ściana dźwięku może być wyczerpująca, "Psychocandy" wymaga uwagi i cierpliwości, ale odwdzięcza się niezapomnianym doświadczeniem. 4/5

This is one of the gnarliest, nastiest, noisiest albums that I can think of that is still fairly accessible and is supported by a back bone of such beautiful songcrafting. 8+/10

Too noisy for my taste

not bad but not for me

I really like JAMC - especially Jim Reid's gravelly vocals. Love the combination of melody with noise. Did not know that Bobby Gillespie was the drummer for most of this album.

This album wasn't new to me. While there are some good tracks on here, the soundscape definitely gets a bit much, leading to listener fatigue, and possible headaches. Catchy pop melodies underlay a carpet of fuzz that tends to overwhelm most tracks.

Too much flavour for my bland self. This sucks, this ain't for me. I need to clean my ears after this one

Okay album.

Mostly slow and sad with some good Pop touches.

I really, really like music like this.

hmm, pretty good.

It is good, dreamy, noisy, dissonant post-punk. Not as pop-heavy as other mid-eighties peers but also less ear-bleedy than say Sex Pistols or even Ramones. Interesting and enduring. I liked it.

There is good music under all the ridiculous noise.

If you like distortion with a ton of reverb this is the album for you 1/5

A pretty good album, I liked Just Like Honey the most.

Classis album

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.

If they were trying to make it sound like shit they were successful. Occasionally, I heard some potential in a song, but it never lasted.

Honestly pretty decent, might have to listen again when sober

It's like a pop song got hit by a guitar pedal and refused to apologize.

not as much of my cup of tea as i expected it to be but nevertheless very good

Felt like I nearly vibed with this but just never got there

I wish that I had heard this back in 1986. This was really out of the ordinary for that year. There's a lot of reverb and distortion. Those don't always work, but for the most part they do. "Taste the Floor" and "Cut Dead" were the real standouts for me. There were a couple of tracks that just sounded like feedback, but the rest were pretty decent.

even the boring songs are perfect

Feedback, hiss and noise.

Remember when dark and discordant was a thing? Then you might like this! Otherwise, not much to recommend.

There's a lot of punk here, but there's also a lot of early shoegaze. The middle ground is interesting, but not pleasant.

I love this noise. I think it was the first shoegaze band I listened to. I remember hearing the song ‘Just Like Honey’ at the end of the movie Lost in Translation—I was completely captivated by the sound

Thought i would like it, but it really wasn't my taste.

whew there is a shit ton of feedback on these tracks. I guess its sorta like a poppy/distortion laden The Cure? Almost every track is just a wall of noise at some points, like they recorded guitar over tv static. None of the songs are particularly good or stand out, I guess they catch the mid 80's fairly well, just replace the synth with noise, feedback and distortion.

Not for me

A bit grim, no?

At first I had a hard time with the feedback sounds on some of the tracks, but the more I listen the more I love this! Tended to enjoy the dreamier showcase tracks more but the more punkish songs grew on me.

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.

I love some distortion, but Christ and his mother... too much. It's like someone wanted to recreate a 60s Garage album and forgot to turn the distortion down, then smatter in some Gothic New Wave. Hard work this one.

The album title perfectly describes the music within it. Psycho - Is for the heavy distortion that engulfs These songs and creates it own maddening sound Candy - for the beautiful melodies and pop songs underneath all its LOUD Noise First track “Just Like Honey” gives you a little more Candy than Psycho. But other tracks lean heavier on that first word! 4/5 PS - album features later lead singer of Primal Scream Bobby Gillespie on drums. Just thought I’d add that

I am tired of 1980s Brit pop-punk

The first track is incredible, of course. The rest obviously paved the way for the likes of MBV - but Loveless has a sound that does something to me, whereas this one is much more grating at times. The second half is overall much more listenable, which I'd not appreciated before.

It was very 'eh' like mashed potatoes, if it sounded like the constant droning of a chainsaw.

A lot missing from YT Music

Not for me. I'm really starting to see how particular I am about 80s music. It was a good era but I'm not feeling this album.

If it weren’t so noisy it would be a very boring pop album. Instead it’s boring AND painful to listen to 😍

This album is a coin. Two sides n' all that, y'know? Heads: I'm honestly surprised by this album. I went into this thing expecting nothing but boring-ass loud noise. Y'know, just because they put the volume and reverb all the way to 11, I'm apparently supposed to consider this "good" because it's "not mainstream." But then there's actually a number of tracks where, through the reverb (was this thing recorded in the Grand Canyon?), I actually think it's kinda pretty? It's these '60's pop group melodies where, like, if these songs had been recorded conventionally, this might as well be bubblegum. And of course, those ended up being my favorite. Besides the reverb, I feel like the worst thing I can say about them is I maybe would've liked a different vocalist. Something that actually fits that '60s pop aesthetic instead of... Well... Tails: I'm honestly not surprised by this album. I went into this thing expecting nothing but boring-ass loud noise. Y'know, just because they put the volume and reverb all the way to 11, I'm apparently supposed to consider this "good" because it's "not mainstream." And yep — that's what it is alright. Harsh buzzsaw guitars and faceless post-punk vocals, all slopped into a mushy mush thanks to a way-too-thick level of reverb. The reverb's really just a step away from how it sounded on Stan Freberg's parody of "Heartbreak Hotel", and only a small one at that. Like, I can't even really think of any specifics to comment on because the reverb makes it just that hard to. Although, hey, I'm pretty sure if you **did** get rid of it there still wouldn't be anything to talk about. Like, "Ah, cool, more post-punk nonsense — my **faaaavoriiite**~." Of course, this album isn't exactly a coin flip. It's "tails" more often than its not, unfortunately. Even when it **is** "heads," I don't find myself really thinking that I'd wanna return to these songs. In fact, being 100 with y'all: I didn't even finish this. Yes, I listened to the first side (the first seven songs), then I tapped out. I just couldn't fathom what I'd gain listening to the other seven tracks. Like, how could this album possibly different in the back half that'd make me go, "Oh, no it's actually **genius** and I **love** having noise blared at me." Look, maybe I have baby ears that are just too used to pop and traditional production methods. I recognize fully that I was never gonna be in the audience for noise music like this. But I gotta rate this how I feel, and... Oh, I so wanted to be generous and give this thing a 2. Like, just on the merit of those couple of '60s melodies I liked so much. However, given the fact that it actually caused me to stop listening halfway through... Yeah, no. On that alone I have to give this thing a 1. Even albums I was feeling less generous towards, I could still get through to the end. Hell, I finished shit like DEVIL WITHOUT A CAUSE and MAXINQUAYE. Not here, though. I'm tired and I don't wanna yawn my way through more solid walls of noise. "Poetry-noise?" I suppose. It's just not worth my time to make heads or tails of it.

While not exactly the most pleasant sounding release, this album should still be celebrated for all the influence it gave to future artists. Solid 4 Stars.

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!

Just Like Honey was pretty good, I did enjoy that song. Also found these OK: - The Hardest Walk - Taste of Cindy - Some Candy Talking (reminds me of Velvet Underground) - Sowing Seeds I do like a trashy, distorted guitar sound, but this is a bit much. Plus a lot of the songs sounded very much alike. I had to skip a few songs where the background distortion was so crunchy. Going with a 2 for this album

Take a shoegaze rhythm section and run the whole thing through a fuzz pedal. Then have the lethargic singer half-ass his vocals over the top of it. That's what's going on here. Nothing grabbed me as a listener. 1 star.

Solid

The revolution of Noise Pop has begun and it did with this album. The Jesus and Mary Chain were some of the first to combine dark Post-Punk with noisy Pop melodies that feel like a mix of the Beach Boys and Sonic Youth but ultimately better than both (except Pet Sounds of course, you can't beat that one). It's a raw, dense, atmospheric and romantic mix of genres and ideas that ultimately pathed the way for a whole new thread of music including genres like Shoegaze. Opening track 'Just Like Honey' is a beautiful and psychedelic Noise Pop song that pretty much embodies what Noise Pop is: incredible Pop songs with Noise put on top. Here, they create a lovingly made and romantic song that just screams "1960's" with the songwriting as well as the performance. Latter of course to a degree because there is a lot of reverb added but that doesn't stop the song from being absolutely beautiful and perfect. The Deathrock inspired Noise Rock and Post-Punk 'The Living End' goes into a much heavier and even noisier direction that still shows a lot of beauty in both production and songwriting. I really love the vocals that seem to linger above the noisy ground with a finesse that feel like it comes directly from a (male) angel. It's absolutely perfect and there is no doubt in my mind. This is how you do Noise Rock. It gets even noisier on 'Taste the Floor' which has as much Noise as possible before it's considered Harsh Noise. But it's done beautifully and of course, the vocals help a lot. For my personal taste, it might be a bit too much Noise but "oh my god", the songwriting is absolutely perfect which makes up for every bit of discomfort from the instrumental. The verses as well as the chorus are perfected to the most. The dreamy and psychedelic aspect of their music is worked out even more on 'The Hardest Walk' which again, is absolutely beautifully written and because the instruments are a bit more distinguishable, the parts where the vocals are a bit more "basic" work much better. I absolutely love the song but it isn't a perfect track, sadly. There are bits here and there that I'm not the biggest fan of but still, incredible. Interestingly, 'Cut Dead' isn't noisy at all. There's still a lot of effects and reverb which gives it a typical Dream Pop feeling which works absolutely well with the rest of the tracks but there's nothing Noise Pop about this, only psychedelic Dream Pop. It's beautiful but a bit out of place and even if I really like the vocal delivery, the rest feels a bit "empty" on the album. But even this way I love it. In total contrast, 'In a Hole' goes as Noise as probably possible back then. It has a very well made Post-Punk track buried beneath a thick layer of Noise. Sadly, this Noise isn't really put together all that well and just repeats a tad bit too loud. The songwriting is absolutely incredible but that bit too much Noise is enough to ruin a good portion of it. It's great but not more, sadly. The still noisy (but less noisy) 'Taste of Cindy' closes the first half of the album with a pretty Jangle Pop and Post-Punk track that feels very much like something from The Smiths but with a ton of Noise and reverb. It's lovely and absolutely wonderful to listen to. The bass really sticks out here and even though there's a ton of Noise added, it's integrated much better. Side B opens with the Post-Punk track 'Never Understand' which has some very stinging Noise added which is at a point where it helps the song but isn't too loud or too distracting. It may a bit too high-pitched but in the end it adds to the strange feeling of the record. The "actual" song is a really sweet and catchy 80's pop song and even if I really love pretty much everything about the song, it just isn't perfect even with so many great details like the screams that add so much more darkness. 'Inside Me' mixes the Noise Pop Rock with the vocal and instrumental performance of Gothic Rock which just fits the song perfectly. The songwriting and vocal delivery leaves nothing open and it just flows through the stages of dreamy and beautiful vocals with dark and blistering Noise. The mix of genres here is absolutely wonderful and perfected. On 'Sowing Seeds', the Noise is tuned way down and let's the Dream Pop side shine through much stronger which results in a hypnotic and beautiful listen that sounds like the best possible mix of 60's songwriting and production with that of the 80's. The song is an emotional rollercoaster that seems to spiral down to longer it plays. This nearly made me cry... Perfect. The more Punk inspired side returns with 'My Little Underground' which still has much less Noise than some previous tracks but it also still has some beautiful moments with the Noise Rock that is there. What a catchy track it is too. I don't understand half of what he's singing but the delivery is enough for the song to stick with me so much longer than I'd had thought. Absolutely perfect. The more strong audible Noise comes back into the centre on 'You Trip Me Up' which again has some absolutely wonderful songwriting that would be incredible without the Noise but damn, it adds so much. Such a hypnotic and beautiful listen that makes you forget everything for a second and just drones you with half beautiful half angsty but absolutely incredible overall. No, perfect overall. 'Something's Wrong' might have something wrong with it because the vocals are mixed to quietly and all the rest of the song just isn't as catchy. Now don't get me wrong, this is still a good song and I really, really enjoy it but held against the other songs, it is a bit duller and less perfected. Some moments are just not interesting at all with only some really helping it up. On top, it is the longest song on the album and you definitely feel that. They just aren't that good at making song longer than 3 minutes. Sadly. The closing track 'It's So Hard' brings in some Industrial, similar to something from Einstürzende Neubauten but with their Noise Pop songwriting which is really interesting and more Post-Punk especially with the vocal delivery but there's something that kind of keeps me from fully loving it which is why I think that it's "only" incredible but not perfect. favourites: The Living End, My Little Underground, Just Like Honey, Sowing Seeds, Taste the Floor, Inside Me, You Trip Me Up, Taste of Cindy least favourites: Something's Wrong, In a Hole Rating: strong 9 https://rateyourmusic.com/~Emil_ph for more ratings, reviews and takes

Tedious tripe.

Maybe getting old lol but kinda noisy

I feel like these were really talented songwriters that felt too cool to sound nice.

Approaching this with no context to this band or its importance in the music space, this sounded awful. After reading some reviews before writing my own, I can get why this took off, but hoo boy does it just not work for me. I disliked feeling like I was listening to this in a hallway. No faves here.

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.

What a debut this release is. Jesus & Mary Chain bring a pop sound with some fuzz and we get such a pleasant listen on Psychocandy. Along with their fellow Scots, Cocteau Twins and Siouxsie and The Banshees, Jesus & Mary Chain are a pioneer of the wonderful genre of shoegaze. Pop music at its core is glossy, which is totally great in its own right but what J&MC demonstrate here is that the fuzzy distortion can bring depth to the music and there’s emotion in the harshness of it. There’s beauty in the imperfections and this album is a beauty for sure. 5 stars

7.5/10 This was a surprise hit. I knew if the band but don’t think I’d heard anything Think Stone Roses + Spiritualized/Soaceman 3 with a little sprinkle of The Cure Noisy tuneful poppy druggy indie Too many tracks? Best: Just Like Honey

sorry not sorry

meh

3.4

ja helemaal niks mee, veel te veel moeilijk doen

Iets te heftig voor me Nee helemaal niks voor mij

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 fascinating lesson in the materiality of music. I buy "reasonably priced" everyday earbuds, and I drive them into the ground. I'm aware that the ones I'm using are on their last legs at the moment, but they've still been acceptable for getting the sense of a song. Except not for this album. The feedback and distortion sounded unlistenably tinny; I was constantly getting on the JBL app to try a different EQ setting just so the album didn't sound like the static-y fringes of a radio station's signal. To be fair, I got home and listened again on my better headphones. With these, the fuzz did start to take on more shapes and layers, and the feedback, while still piercing, was less unbalanced. I could start to parse a little bit of what was going on. But it's still not for me. It struck me as repetitive and monotone; nothing was able to cut through the fuzz and grab me. Maybe this would be an album that rewards careful listening and study, but frankly, the message I got was "listen or don't; it's all the same to us." So, I'm moving on. 2.5, rounding down.

Love me some JAMC - this is a classic.

Album that inspired a genre. Has some great moments.

East Kilbrides finest

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

kinda unpleasant tbh

I've had their second album before this from the generator and feel similarly about both. This one doesn't quite have the same catchy melodies but was hugely influential in the shoegaze genre. Still has good songs and the guitar noise effects are sound super cool, particularly given JAMC were one of the first bands to make music like this. If I have any criticism it's that the tracks sound a bit samey after a while, but I like it

This wouldn’t be so bad if half the songs didn’t have insufferable screeching/white noise. 2.

Oh, I get it.

I enjoyed the actual album a lot, although it's only available in a shitty extended version on Spotify, which makes it feel overlong at nearly 80 minutes as opposed to the 40ish minutes of the original album. I wish record companies would stop pulling this shit. I only want to listen to the actual album, not a ton of outtakes, alternative versions and b-sides.

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

Album 553 of 1001 The Jesus And Mary Chain - Psychocandy (1985) Rating : 1.5 / 5 Classified as Rock/Indie/Shoegaze...but the Shoegaze comes through just a bit much to me. The amount of reverb made my tinnitus angry. They succeeded at what they intended to do but I don't like it very much.

What’s not to like? Ebullient, orgiastic hooks and melodies. Great cascading waves of lavishly fuzzy feedback. All of it sounding as if it’s being played down the hall or across some vast and vacant industrial space (or the Tate Modern, one supposes [albeit anachronistically]). No band did musical chiaroscuro better (metal darkness with pop lightness) or dynamic valences (heavy banks of sound with melody floating free) – it’s enough to make a listener both light-headed and depressed. “Just Like Honey” is an all-out keeper, and a soft opening for the raw, distorted, echoey, grind to come. There’s a light-headedness within all the heaviness and darkness, as well as a mix between more melodious cuts and dirging soundscapes. This record is a true original, with an extraordinarily apt title, too – Psychocandy indeed. Out there.

This album feels like walking through fog. The fuzz and distortion are heavy, but it doesn’t quite land. It’s like listening to The Velvet Underground but without the warmth or charm. The vocals hide behind the noise, never really pushing through. It’s an interesting vibe, but it lacks depth. You could get lost in it, but I’m not sure you’d want to.

The reverb was grating, which was annoying because under all of it I think there were some songs I might have liked.

Ok. Best I can do…

I found this to be nearly good, which made it worse to me. It's fine, probably even good, but I found it pretty irritating, especially when it just seemed like it was noisy

duplicate

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"

I love This record.

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.

I hate shoegaze for the most part. This album should be called 'Music to induce headaches'.

Emphasis on the psycho in psycho candy. Wow was this horrible. These songs felt like a combination of feedback and screeching to make a horrible sound. Nothing could have prepared me for how bad this was going to be.

I think they need more reverb. .... This band also had the worst snare drum sound outside of an 808 in pop/rock history. From the literal first measure of the album I can't get by it. My music tastes changed a ton since the 80s and I like most of what I'd thought I hated back then but this one I just can't - the songs are not bad at the core yet wholly unremarkable so of course the band was all about the sound, which is frankly terrible. Zzzzz.... there were/are so many other better retro 80s alt-rock artists. Pass. 3/10 2 stars.

Second Jesus and the Mary Chain album. Didn’t enjoy the music. The fact that it Wikipaedia notes it was influential in shoegaze is not surprising. 2/5.

While this could desperately use a remastering, I still don’t think that would add more than a single star to this mess.

Siis mitä helvettiä, onko nää auton kaijuttimet rikki?? Ei nää levyt oikeasti voi kuullostaa tältä. Tää miksaus raiskaa korvat ihan oikeasti. Ei tälläistä voi kuunnella. Kappaleet ei välttämättä niin huonoja olis, mutta tuo kitaran feedback on ihan oikeasti NIIN HIRVEÄ

I endured but my hearing didn't

Punk can die, won’t try to save it

Ugh

Compressed fever dream. Favourite track: Something's Wrong.

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.

It just turned into nothingness and I feel like I have said that a lot recently regarding albums

At first I was like "okay a lot of distortion but there's some catchy hooks and lyrics buried underneath, I can get behind this". Then after about the ninth song I was like "okay guys it's just the same schtick over and over again". Each song sounds very much the same which is disappointing. That's probably my biggest complaint is just the repetitiveness of the album. Also using crazy fuzz on every single song just kinda dulls your overall use of it, too much of a good thing and all that. Really disappointed me beginning was pretty strong.

this wasn't horrible, but I wouldn't seek it out to listen to again either. too much distortion/feedback & mumbling vocals

Beach boys meets sonic youth

Bad

Good, not great