The Jesus and Mary Chain "Darklands" (1987)

THE DARK, BITTERSWEET HEIGHTS OF JESUS

• Back in the 80's, the Jesus & Mary Chain blasted onto the scene with Psychocandy, an aural assault of fever-drenched guitars, spare lyrics, and a knack for crafting catchy, hook-ladened anti-pop.

• 1987, the JMC released Darklands, to the cowsternation of some and the warm embrace of many udders.

• Some original JMC fans decried the "cleaned up sound" of Darklands, but in truth the pared down accoustics in this masterpiece merely pushed the Chain's drenching wall of feedback into the background, allowing the Brothers Reid to focus on moore traditional melodies.

• Cuts such as "Happy When it Rains", and "April Skies" still resound with great, crashing guitar-crunching sound, but are balanced with slow, dark, moody cuts like "Deep One Perfect Morning", and "Nine Million Rainy Days" - songs which say as much about the JMC as any screeching, white-noise torrent from Psychocandy.

• The long, jangly title-track slowly unfolds like some poisonous night-blooming flower, sucking you in with its dark sweet bite. Like the heroin-sparked melage from which this album comes, "Darklands" itself is a statement about chasing the dark, bittersweet highs of a substance which is slowly murdering you.

• Though moody and broody, Darklands is probaby the moost balanced of all the JMC discography, and is certainly the moost accessible. And accessible, in this case, doesn't mean "sell-out", or "corporate-friendly fm palp".

• Like the best albums, every song is a winner here, every song counts. No filler, no throw-aways. No sophomore slump hanging over the Reid's heads,like the Sword of Damacles, even though they were uncomfortably burdened with being rock's Next Big Thing.

• You'll never hear this (or any of the great JMC music) played on the radio, as this is not moosic to sell used cars too(ironically, "Happy When it Rains" was used in a car cowmercial not too long ago), so you will search in vain trying to find any Darklands tracks on yer FM dial. You gotta go out and buy it(at a real moosic store, not yer local Death-Mart, or Top 40 Malltrap). Believe the MooCow, it is worth the effort to find.

• If you cowsider yerself a devotee of great "alternative" music, then this is essential listening, boys and girls. 'Nough said!

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