In a surprise move, iconic Scottish band The Jesus and Mary Chain (JAMC) have just released a new single entitled ‘jamcod’ through new label Fuzz Club Records with news of a new album. ‘Glasgow Eyes’ on the way next year.
Opening with a psychedelic electronic clang, the track launches into a hyperkinetic motorik beat that thunders along before Jim Reid’s signature louche, sneering and laconic vocals kick in along with thundering guitars in the chorus. It’s like JAMC fell into a concrete mixer with Cabaret Voltaire and New Order and still comes out sounding like JAMC, but with a high voltage zap and a government health warning.
It’s so good to see them back and as angry and disdainful as ever:
‘jamcod’ is out now and available to download and stream through all the usual sites and through the link above.
Marking 40 years of The Jesus And Mary Chain, ‘Glasgow Eyes’ was recorded at Mogwai’s Castle of Doom studio in Glasgow, where the Reid brothers continued the creative process that resulted in their previous album, 2017’s ‘Damage and Joy’, becoming their highest charting album in over twenty years. What emerged is a record that finds one of the UK’s most influential groups embracing a productive second chapter, their maelstrom of melody, feedback and controlled chaos now informed more audibly by their love for Suicide and Kraftwerk and a fresh appreciation of the less disciplined attitudes found in jazz.
Jim Reid says:
But don’t expect ‘the Mary Chain goes jazz.’ People should expect a Jesus and Mary Chain record, and that’s certainly what ‘Glasgow Eyes’ is. Our creative approach is remarkably the same as it was in 1984, just hit the studio and see what happens. We went in with a bunch of songs and let it take its course. There are no rules, you just do whatever it takes. And there’s a telepathy there – we are those weird not-quite twins that finish each other’s sentences.” ‘
‘Glasgow Eyes’ is out on 8 March 2024 and you can preorder here and through the link below:
JAMC will be touring through the UK and Europe in 2024 – dates below.
March 22 – Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall
March 25 – Dublin, IE @ Olympia
March 26 – Belfast, UK @ Limelight 1
March 27 – Edinburgh, UK @ Usher Hall
March 30 – London, UK @ Roundhouse
April 2 – Copenhagen, DK @ Amager Bio
April 3 – Gothenburg, SE @ Pustervik
April 5 – Oslo, NO @ Rockefeller
April 6 – Stockholm, SE @ Munich Brewery
April 7 – Malmo, SE @ Plan B
April 9 – Hamburg, DE @ Markthalle
April 11 – Berlin, DE @ Huxleys
April 12 – Cologne, DE @ Live Music Hall
April 13 – Paris, FR @ Elysée Montmartre
April 15 – Geneva, CH @ L’Usine
April 16 – Winterthur, CH @ Salzhaus
April 17 – Milan, IT @ Alcatraz
April 19 – Krems, AT @ Donaufestival
April 20 – Heidelberg, DE @ Halle O2
April 21 – Tilburg, NL @ Roadburn Festival
April 23 – Brussels, BE @ AB
April 24 – The Hague, NL @ Paard
Feature Photograph: Mel Butler
[…] their earlier single ‘jamcod’ (reviewed by me here), there is an autobiographical element to the single, reflecting on the band’s turbulent […]