There's little in modern rock with the visceral, gut-level appeal of The Jesus And Mary Chain's trademark fuzz-drenched pop. At its best, it transports the listener to a parallel plane, where melodies and words and noise and fuzz weave in and out of each other and ones ears. But while the group's trance-like psychedelic rock has led to much of its attention, what elevates The Jesus And Mary Chain's music are the melodies. Sometimes you have to dig deep to find it -- and too many listeners unfortunately don't make the effort -- but each track has a catchy tune at its base.
As the band has developed over the last eleven years (yes, it's been that long since the brilliant -- and utterly perfectly titled -- Psychocandy was released), on occasion they've departed from their trademark sound. Often this was done on B-sides, soundtracks and such, but the band's previous album, Stoned & Dethroned, was toned down quite a bit, and helped them to a major alternative hit, "Sometimes Always," a duet with Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval.
The Jesus And Mary Chain Hate Rock 'n' Roll is a collection of tracks from various sources that could have been overlooked, but which genuinely deserve attention. (The band's done this before, with the Barbed Wire Kisses album in 1988.) Four of them are relatively new, having been released on an EP in the U.K. in 1995. These tracks represent something of a return to their fuzzier roots, especially on the wigged-out "33 1/3" and the pummeling title track, which rips at MTV and the BBC as representatives of the horrid side of the music biz.
While the four new tracks act as the focal point of this collection, there's lots more worth your trouble. "Snakedriver," the band's contribution to The Crow soundtrack is here, and it's got a truly seductive groove. One of the cooler, more interesting cuts is the dance mix (by Grand Exalted Poobah) of "Teenage Lust -- Desdemoana Mix." There's even an acoustic track.
Part of the fun of this collection is its eclectic nature, so it wouldn't be fair to spoil the fun of discovering it for yourself. Lose yourself in it.
