It was a curious coincidence that no sooner had I got my head out of Paul Morley's latest book on David Bowie than Ned Raggett was opening his Quietus piece marking the 40th anniversary of Psychocandy with Bowie's dismissal of his fellow Velvet Underground fans as "awful" and "so sophomoric". He wasn't wrong about many things, but it's fair to say Bowie was well wide of the mark when it came to The Jesus & Mary Chain.
Raggett situates the band behind this now-legendary debut in the lineage of artists who have instinctively understood that the combination of "hooks and noise" simply works. The Jesus & Mary Chain would dial back the obliterating feedback on later releases, but even at this early stage, Raggett notes, "they pretty clearly loved the sweet stuff and not just the sour, the winsome and beautiful, not just the Jesus fuck of it all". The clues are all there in the album title.
Raggett also acknowledges that, simple though the lyrics often are, they are often perfect - especially right at the start of lead single 'Never Understand': "The sun comes up, another day begins / And I don't even worry about the state I'm in."
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