The Jesus And Mary Chain: Munki

The Jesus And Mary Chain is a perfect example of a band greater than the sum of its parts. Equally and obviously influenced by the Ramones, The Beach Boys, T. Rex, Phil Spector, and the Velvet Underground, there's still no confusing JAMC with any of its predecessors. In fact, so faithfully do Jim and William Reid evoke the music of their heroes that the group's immediately identifiable music constantly teeters between trademark and formula: Begin with one "Be My Baby" beat, add some drug-filled lyrics and waves of feedback, mix with Beach Boys melodies and buzzsaw guitar, and voila! But what seems like simplicity itself is no less compelling today than it was in 1985, when the band's Psychocandy blew out eardrums on college campuses around the world. Discounting the arena-ready perfection of 1989's Automatic, Munki, the band's first album in four years, may be the best, purest JAMC album since Darklands. Beginning with the bright-eyed "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" and ending with its cynical companion "I Hate Rock 'n' Roll," Munki is a return to form. "I'm a mean motherfucker now, but I once was cool," sings William Reid on "Birthday," a song that explicitly references JAMC's past music by sampling the group's own "Just Like Honey," and Munki as a whole seems to attempt to recapture that elusive "cool" factor. "Fizzy" may be the band's best pop hook since "Head On," while the wonderful "Mo Tucker" debuts sister Linda Reid on lead vocals. The album is so solid that when the occasional clunker pops up, it's really obvious. At an unrelenting 70 minutes and with an epic 17 songs, Munki could do without the self-indulgent filler of "Perfume" (featuring Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval) and the seven-minute "Commercial." But with so many other great songs, these errors in judgment can be forgiven.