100 Records That Shook The World, #8

Psychocandy (LP)

The Jesus And Mary Chain

I first saw JAMC on The Tube in early '85, performing "In A Hole" and "Never Understand " in what appeared to be a dank cellar of some sort. Aside from the sound of feedback upon feedback upon feedback and vocals barely intelligible below the surface of all that noise, with dull thuds of drums mixed in, what got me was the spotty angst of these floppy-haired ne'er-do-wells, who seemed barely able to stand up, let alone string a sentence together. I thought, "This is great! What an insane sound!" It seemed like this was the second coming of punk rebellion, and I had to have it. I next heard them in session on John Peel's show, and was even more enamoured by their stark refusal to sound like a real band and more like fifteen anglegrinders and a mumbler. Because below it all, there was actual musicianship, real tunes, pure rock n' roll devilry. And so I went out and bought "Never Understand" and "Just Like Honey".

Rock on.