Stoned & Dethroned

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There comes a time in the career of every UK group when it must make its Americana album. The Jesus and Mary Chain took their shot at capturing the mythical lore of manifest destiny and motor vehicles on their fifth full-length, complete with cover images of a deserted two-lane desert highway and vintage 1970s Lincoln Continental. Fortunately, no one attempts a southern twang on <i>Stoned & Dethroned</i>, although plenty of cowboy hats are donned in the video for “Sometimes Always,” a duet between singer Jim Reid and brother William’s girlfriend, Mazzy Star vocalist Hope Sandoval, that pays unapologetic homage to the country pop combo of Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood. That song became the biggest hit of the JAMC’s career. But while commentators were quick to accuse the group of capitalizing on Sandoval’s success, few acknowledged that Mazzy Star’s wistful psychedelic folk sound owed more than a small debt to the JAMC’s beloved 1987 album, <i>Darklands</i>. So it was that The Jesus and Mary Chain found themselves facing the familiar pioneer’s conundrum of being so far ahead of the pack that when later admirers achieve success, newer fans are ignorant of who is standing on whose shoulders. Not that it mattered because the studiously stoic Reid brothers intrinsically understood that the archetype of whiskey-soaked bad boys, whether wearing cowboy boots or motorcycle jackets, could be traced back to their British Isles heritage of romaticized outsiders like James Joyce, Lord Byron, and even Saint Patrick—a point made salient on “God Help Me” with the help of legendary hellion Shane McGowan of The Pogues. Also irrefutable is the fact that the JAMC’s melodic sensibility—part campfire song, part sea shanty, part Chuck Berry—is always satisfying, which is why “Girlfriend” feels immediately familiar to anyone who ever hummed a lullaby. In other words, pretty much everyone.

via Apple Music