Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Phil Mongredien

The Jesus and Mary Chain: Glasgow Eyes review – the Reid brothers get their mojo back

William (left) and Jim Reid.
Reasons to cheer… William (left) and Jim Reid. Photograph: Mel Butler

Given the weakness of so much of the brothers Reid’s post-1992 output, last autumn’s comeback single, Jamcod, was an unexpected triumph – the sound of a band rediscovering the combination of melody and dissonance that made their 1980s records so thrilling. That it’s the standout track on their first album since 2017’s patchy Damage and Joy is no surprise. Less predictably, though, there’s plenty else on Glasgow Eyes – recorded at Mogwai’s Castle of Doom studio in the city – that’s almost as good.

The Eagles and the Beatles is a knowing love letter to classic rock set to I Love Rock’n’Roll’s riff; the Suicide-adjacent Venal Joy reprises the mechanised throb of 1989’s Automatic; the more restrained Chemical Animal smoulders winningly, while Second of June recalls the prettiness that always lay beneath Psychocandy’s layers of feedback. There are inevitable longueurs as well, mind: Pure Poor gives dirges a bad name, and closer Hey Lou Reid fancies itself as an epic but instead just feels like an extraordinarily slow six minutes. Still, the fact that Glasgow Eyes is three-quarters of a good record is reason for celebration.

Watch the video for Jamcod by the Jesus and Mary Chain.
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.