The Jesus And Mary Chain released their long-awaited new album ‘Damage and Joy’ in March.
The album was their first since ‘Munki’ was released back in the summer of 1998, and now they are taking to the road for a second bout in support of the disc - and Northampton is on the tour itinerary.
Fronted by the Reid brothers Jim and William, The Jesus And Mary Chain first reformed to play the Coachella festival back in 2007. Despite regular touring – most notably a 2015 world tour which revisited their landmark album ‘Psychocandy’ – it took some time before they could agree on a plan to record a much-mooted seventh album.
“We started to – can you believe? – listen to each other a bit more,” explains Jim. “In the last couple of years, we’ve buried the hatchet to some degree, and thankfully not into each other. Most people who know us would say that we haven’t mellowed that much. I think it was to do with the fact, dare I say it, that wisdom comes with age. Let’s live and let live, and let’s take each other’s opinions into account.”
Work on ‘Damage and Joy’ (a reference to the English translation of schadenfreude) began in September 2015, with producer Youth also contributing bass and diplomacy to proceedings during sessions in London, Dublin and Granada, Spain.
Alan McGee first confirmed that a new JAMC album was on the way by telling Canada’s CBC Music: “They've made another album! It's a big deal! It's kinda enormous."
The album also features performances from the band’s touring drummer Brian Young as well as former Lush bassist Phil King.
“The interesting thing about this record is what comes out of the speakers,” declares Jim. “To make a good record is an achievement if you’re twenty-two, but to do it in your fifties, the way we are, I think is a minor miracle.”
The Jesus and Mary Chain will play live at Northampton Roadmender on September 27.
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