When The Jesus And Mary Chain split up live on stage in 1999 it seemed pretty terminal. William went off and recorded some of the most uncommercial, unfocussed and downright unlistenable stuff any record label has ever put out as Lazycame. I've got the album and it's awful. I've got a 7" which has got a good track on it. Jim took Ben Lurie from The Mary Chain and formed Freeheat, who released some stuff in America, but it was a bit uninspired. Jim had a brief stab at a solo career as well, with a good single called Dead End Kids (remind me and I'll post it at some point). In 2007 they unexpectedly reformed playing Coachella (with Scarlett Johansson guesting) and a few gigs afterwards, but new material has been thin on the ground. A new song was aired on a US tv show and popped up in an episode of Heroes. Typically, they claimed the secret to the reformation was 'Jim doesn't drink anymore, and William doesn't drink on stage'.
In between the split and the reformation, in early 2007, a Sister Vanilla album, Little Pop Rock, came out to a few reviews but little fanfare which was surprising as it was a Mary Chain album in all but name. Sister Vanilla is fronted by the Reid's sister Linda, and she has the Mary Chain drawl down to a t. The Mary Chain are all over the album- the songs are co-written by Jim and William, Jim, Ben Lurie and William produced it, Jim sings on many of the tracks with Linda and plays guitar, William's instruments are all over it. The lyrics reference the Mary Chain (the title of this song for one, another goes 'Honey's Dead, Psychocandy, I listen to them all of the time'). Several of the songs were recorded by earlier Reid projects (Two Of Us by Freeheat, Can't Stop The Rock by Jim as the b-side to his Secret For A Song solo single, K To Be Lost was the best/only Lazycame song). Some of the songs feature William's distinctive misanthropic worldview ('I've had money and drugs and fame, I pissed my money all down the drain, I pissed my mother, I pissed my friend' etc etc, sung with a sweet snarl by Linda). It's a really good little album and well worth looking out for.
In between the split and the reformation, in early 2007, a Sister Vanilla album, Little Pop Rock, came out to a few reviews but little fanfare which was surprising as it was a Mary Chain album in all but name. Sister Vanilla is fronted by the Reid's sister Linda, and she has the Mary Chain drawl down to a t. The Mary Chain are all over the album- the songs are co-written by Jim and William, Jim, Ben Lurie and William produced it, Jim sings on many of the tracks with Linda and plays guitar, William's instruments are all over it. The lyrics reference the Mary Chain (the title of this song for one, another goes 'Honey's Dead, Psychocandy, I listen to them all of the time'). Several of the songs were recorded by earlier Reid projects (Two Of Us by Freeheat, Can't Stop The Rock by Jim as the b-side to his Secret For A Song solo single, K To Be Lost was the best/only Lazycame song). Some of the songs feature William's distinctive misanthropic worldview ('I've had money and drugs and fame, I pissed my money all down the drain, I pissed my mother, I pissed my friend' etc etc, sung with a sweet snarl by Linda). It's a really good little album and well worth looking out for.
Here's a taster- Jamcolas- fuzzy, snarly, warm, narcotic but alive, honey and candy- you know the drill.
02 Jamcolas.wma
02 Jamcolas.wma
I lost my copy of the original Song For A Secret single a couple of years back and have never been able to replace it as it is as rare as hens teeth.
ReplyDeleteI think that I've played the album about 5 times, need to listen to it aagain. I remember liking Pastel Blue