The Jesus and Mary Chain Releases New Record

After 19 years, the battling Reid Brothers have finally dropped a new The Jesus and Mary Chain (TJAMC) album — and it’s great! Of course, the trademark TJAMC elements are all present — sardonic stream-of-consciousness lyrics, earworm melodies, distortion, fuzz tone, and a Velvet Underground/Beach Boys/Phil Spector sensibility … but there’s something more. Perhaps it’s the passage of time, orchestral and synth-pop flourishes, or the inclusion of a gaggle of female guest vocalists: Bernadette Denning on the winning “Always Sad”; Isobel Campbell on “Song for a Secret” and “The Two of Us”; the Reids’ younger sister, Linda, on “Los Feliz (Blues and Greens)” and “Can’t Stop the Rock”; and Sky Ferreira on the excellent “Black and Blues.” Standout tracks include the morbidly satirical Kurt Cobain–referencing “Simian Split,” the witty and word-play-infused “Presidici (Et Chapaquiditch),” and the instant classics “War on Peace” and “All Things Pass.”