Favorite Albums: The Jesus and Mary Chain | Automatic.

Keeping the change as it only constant, The Jesus And Mary Chain third album was misunderstood at its release.

Listening to 'Psychocandy' today, it’s possible that the sonic impact has somewhat faded, it’s difficult, nowadays, to imagine just how incongruous they would have been among the kajagoogoos or Whams of that time. But the influential 1985 debut album from The Jesus and Mary Chain, with Its pioneering mix of feedback and 60’s pop-rock harmonies left a seismic impact, inspiring countless shoegaze and alternative rock bands in its wake.

The follow-up album, 'Darklands', saw a huge change in style, it turned down the amplifiers (and fuzzboxes) for a more restrained-sounding approach. The album is moody and calm, relying on acoustic guitars and more laid-back melodies, less distortion and subtler arrangements, allowing for a more somber element to emerge. Praised by critics and the public, 'Darklands' showed the band could turn off their feedback and the songs would still stand up.

By the time they got to record their third full-length album the expectations were high, and by the direction hinted by non-album singles like 'Sidewalking', with its abrasive and dark sound, or 'Surfin' U.S.A.', 60's pop drowned in feedback, a return to their origins were expected.

But again the band decided to innovate.

Unfortunately, the critics at the time didn’t get the message, and 'Automatic' was derided upon its release for employing drum machines and synths (there’s no bass guitar on the album), and for these sins, 'Automatic' gets a bad rap that’s largely undeserved.

The truth is that the crisp sound of the drum machines and synth bass guitar gave a contrasting bed to the buzzsaw guitars, with bursts of feedback still ruling the day, and the abrasive vocals of the Reid brothers above it all. In hindsight, you could say that the results of the new electronic approach were positive, presenting us with an electrorock that had more relation to New Order than New Wave.

The album contains five of their all-time best songs: 'Here Comes Alice', a dark candy, 'Coast to Coast', a driving and pulsating track with fantastic guitar parts, 'Between Planets', one of my favorites tracks and a song that could be a rock anthem, 'Blues From A Gun', their most successful single in America up to that point, and the musically pulverizing 'Head On' (“Makes you wanna feel / Makes you wanna try / Makes you wanna blow the stars from the sky.”)

Two years later, The Pixies, one of the most respected indie bands at the time, helped to clean the album rep, covering 'Head On'. And, although the harsh reviews at the time of its release, critical and fan reception has improved with the passage of time, and nowadays most of the critics put the album among the best of Jesus and Mary Chain's career.

Liked? Share!

• The Jesus and Mary Chain | Automatic: Misunderstood at its release, Automatic had five of the best songs of the band.

• A-ha | Take On Me: The story behind a two-time flop turned into a world mega-hit.

• The Cure: Ten song that you should (but problably) don't know.

• The Police | Reggatta de Blanc: The band's second album, released less than a year after the debut, sounds a lot like its predecessor, but highlights and expends the Police's distinctive appropriation of reggae.

• A Flock of Seagulls | I Ran (So Far Away): Space age crush that lives in our minds eyes.

• Duran Duran | Save a Prayer: Some people call it a one-night stand but we can call it paradise.

• A-ha | Take On Me: The video that trurned a two-time flop turned into a world mega-hit.

• Bauhaus | Bela Lugisi's Dead: The 10-minute epic birth of Goth.

• The Police | Every Breath You Take: How the most played song in radio history was misinterpreted by the public.

• Pretty in Pink: An 80s masterpice of alt-rock.

• New Order. | Low-life: Exorcising Joy Division's ghost.

• Alphaville | Forever Young: A stunning debut that came a little too late in the synthpop boom.

• The Cure | Just Like Heaven: How the goth masters wrote one of the best love songs of modern pop.

• Toto | Africa: Cheesy, emotional tune inspires unironic adoration across generations.