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ESSENTIAL NEW MUSIC

Essential New Music: The Jesus And Mary Chain’s “Damage And Joy”

Since 1992’s Honey’s Dead, the Jesus And Mary Chain’s records have followed a certain formula: Waves of corrosive guitar distortion surfing minimal, hammered eighth-note bass and programmed beats, with just enough feedback to aid recollection of the band that created Psychocandy (opener “Amputation,” “All Things Pass,” “The Two Of Us”). Or else ballads suggesting Lee Hazlewood writing for the Velvet Underground, produced by a newly minimalist Phil Spector (“War On Peace,” “Los Feliz (Blues, And Greens),” ”Songs For A Secret”). Atop it all are Jim Reid’s mumbled vocals and occasional mute snarls, as if reacting to something provocative from guitarist brother William. Considering the siblings’ shaky relationship—a key factor in Damage And Joy being the first new JAMC release since 1998’s Munki—that might be more than imagery: “I hate my brother, and he hates me,” Jim yawns on “Facing Up To Facts,” “That’s the way it’s supposed to be.”

—Tim Stegall