‘Damage and Joy’ by The Jesus and Mary Chain: An ode to times much greater
The Jesus and Mary Chain have redefined the subgenre known as noise pop. Before their arrival to the semi-mainstream, the idea of fusing both noise rock and pop rock was an idea whispered about in basements and garages, but never acted on or partied to at bars and festivals. At their peak, The Jesus and Mary Chain were spoken about in the same breath as The Pixies and Grandaddy. Unfortunately, that peak happened in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Devoted followers of The Jesus and Mary Chain have been through a lot, from the unsurprising break-up in 1998, to the much ballyhooed reunion in 2007, and through all of the rumors and whispers of new material. Even with these rumors, the band only ever released compilation upon compilation of old material in the early 2010’s. On March 24, 2017, long-time fans’ patience finally paid off. Damage and Joy, officially the band’s seventh studio album, is an exercise in nostalgia. Though the record contains several strong pieces, much of the album’s superlatives come in the form of allusions to the band’s heyday some twenty-five years ago. Many of the tracks off Damage and Joy contain obvious-to-subtle nods to past JAMC masterpieces. However, after nineteen years of virtual silence on the new music front, one may think that this release would be chocked-full of genre-defining material. Instead, JAMC came to the realization that their period of evolution has come to a close. It becomes apparent on this record that the musicians lack the usual spunk and attitude from previous releases. So instead of attempting to conquer a new genre or perform at the same level that they did in their twenties, the aged yet savvy musicians decided to create a record that pointed to such infamous works as Munki and Automatic, allowing the listener to either reminisce or discover the band’s true identity.