Some albums are only listenable when the weather and environment are ripe. With the autumnal season upon us, The Jesus and Mary Chain’s 1987 sophomore album, “Darklands,” is one such example. Paired with lush guitars and an echoed, dramatic drum beat that carry us through “scary worlds of screams” which is the dark terrain of our own thoughts, it is the quintessential soundtrack to falling leaves and chilly mornings.
The genius of the album lies in its creators, Jim and William Reid. Forming the band in 1983 in East Kilbride, Scotland, the pair was heavily influenced by alternative proto-punk acts such as The Velvet Underground, and highly harmonic girl groups of the 1960s, such as The Ronettes. Coupling catchy pop melodies with high levels of punk distortion, the group rebelled against the idea that rock music couldn’t also be introspective. Losing their drummer Bobby Gillspie for Primal Scream fame in 1986, The Jesus and Mary Chain explored track looping and drum machines for the percussion on Darklands, removing pre-recorded beats from the sole canon of disco to the mainstream of rock’n’roll.
Highlights of the album include radio friendly “Happy When It Rains,” dreamy pop-love story-gone-wrong “April Skies,” and titular “Darklands,” which sets the overriding ethos for the rest of the record’s 10 tracks. As October brings cooler weather and the urge to walk around and kick at the falling leaves, give The Jesus and Mary Chain’s 1987 masterpiece “Darklands” a listen.