by Christopher J. Lee (@joonhai)
It can be hard to determine when a band becomes a legacy act, though factors of influence, age, and diminishing productivity often play roles. The Jesus and Mary Chain – brothers Jim and William Reid plus a rotating slew of drummers, bassists, guest vocalists, and other musicians over the years – is unquestionably a legacy act for this configuration of reasons. Their new album Sunset 666: Live at Hollywood Palladium underlines this fact. Frequent headliners at different festivals in Europe and the US today, their last studio album, Damage and Joy, was released in 2017, leaving their back catalog, especially from the 1980s, as the primary source material for their continued longevity. Sunset 666 is both a document of two performances from 2018 and perhaps, as the cryptic (and self-consciously smirking) title suggests, a quiet concession that new material is unlikely in the near future, if ever again.
The Jesus and Mary Chain attained canonical status through their first three albums – Psychocandy, Darklands, and Automatic – each of which continued momentum from the preceding release but without formulaic repetition. Though never entirely mainstream in the same way that their Brit post-punk contemporaries The Cure or New Order were, tracks such as “Just Like Honey” and “Head On” have entered popular consciousness through film and cover versions – namely, the former memorably concluded Sofia Coppola’s film Lost in Translation while the latter was faithfully performed by the Pixies on their album Trompe le Monde. The Mary Chain’s greatest impact, however, has been in the carefully calibrated, distortion-to-pop ratio they established, which can be heard on numerous shoegaze albums and, more distantly, with bands like Nirvana and Nine Inch Nails.
Speaking of which, Sunset 666 was recorded in Los Angeles at the Hollywood Palladium while opening for Nine Inch Nails. A lesser-known NIN had opened for a North American tour of The Jesus and Mary Chain back in the day in 1990, so these recent shows were conceived of as a bit of nostalgic quid pro quo. Six shows together were held at the Palladium. With a total of seventeen tracks, the first twelve are drawn from their final show on December 15th – that night’s complete set – combined with five tracks stemming from their earlier performance on December 11th, which close the album. The resident logic seems to be to include more material, specifically from their album Automatic. Taken together, Sunset 666 lasts about an hour and ten minutes.
Given this length, the album ventures across much, though not all, of their catalog. In a fan-pleasing move, the live set starts with “Just Like Honey” – exactly how Psychocandy begins – followed by a jump to the duet “Sometimes Always” from Stoned & Dethroned with Isobel Campbell, formerly of Belle & Sebastian, filling in for Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star), who appeared on the original recording. Another duet with Campbell is next on the song “Black and Blues,” originally recorded with Sky Ferreira, from Damage and Joy. The next two tracks – “Amputation” and “All Things Pass” – are also from Damage and Joy. The Reid brothers seem intent on highlighting their more recent output to begin things. It's only by track six that they circle back, albeit in abbreviated fashion, to earlier material with “Some Candy Talking” from the eponymously titled 1986 EP accompanied by “Head On” (Automatic) and “The Living End” (Psychocandy).
It's understandable that the band would want to span their oeuvre, though it inevitably imparts a grab bag quality to the proceedings. Depending on your taste, you may feel fulfilled or wanting more. I would have liked a few tracks from Darklands – nothing from that album is present – which I think is their most cohesive aesthetic statement. As an indication of their own sense of its cohesiveness, they did a tour several years ago, cut short by Covid, playing the album in its entirety. That aside, what is revelatory on Sunset 666 are the tracks from Automatic. Despite the popularity of its single “Head On,” that album faced critical heat due to its heightened use of drum machines, even though the Reids had relied on such backing before. Listening to “Between Planets,” “Halfway to Crazy,” and especially “Blues From a Gun” live eliminates this factor, with the songs looser and more deeply felt as a result. “Blues From a Gun” is a highlight from this album.
Sunset 666 will probably not convert new listeners to the band – it is mostly a fan service affair. Still, it captures why The Jesus and Mary Chain has garnered devoted listeners across several decades and why their early work has lasted, with its noisy, almost-industrial leanings matched by addictive, Brian Wilson-inflected song lines.