Record Rebound: The Jesus and Mary Chain reissue ‘Munki’ on its 25th anniversary
Just over 25 years ago, The Jesus and Mary Chain released their sixth studio album, Munki. The expansive double album holds 17 tracks spanning nearly 70 minutes but offers a ubiquitously absorbing listening experience thanks to stylistic diversity unprecedented in prior releases. As with every record put out by this mercurial Scottish outfit, Munki is an uncompromising reflection of the Reid brothers’ darkest passions.
This sprawling release was built around a failing relationship between songwriters Jim and William Reid. The co-founding brothers take alternate solo songwriting credits throughout the two discs in a pulsating undulation of pace and intensity. The one constant is an air of bleak, moody unrest.
“Me and William weren’t really getting along at all,” Jim Reid once recalled. “That last year, we barely even spoke. Munki is one of my favourite albums, but it was really divided. William would go into the studio with the rest of the band and record while I wasn’t there, and then I’d go in with them when William wasn’t there.”
This division is reflected in the music, which has been described as eclectic and incoherent. Whatever one’s conviction, the album contains much to explore in a worthwhile listen for seasoned fans. One of its most accessible highlights is the lead single, ‘I Hate Rock ‘n’ Roll’, a thrashing guitar-driven track primarily written by William Reid.
Jim recalled in a 1998 interview with Alternative Press that his brother wrote the single “out of sheer frustration with the kind of crap we have to deal with in the music business.” Despite concurring with William’s sentiment, Jim wrote ‘I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll’ as an antidote of sorts. “I thought it left [Munki] kind of negative – I felt it was only half the story,” Jim said of the lead single.
Between these two opposing singles was ‘Cracking Up’, perhaps the album’s most enduring hit and one of few tracks to show the Reids working in harmony with one another. The song benefits from a Pixies-inspired loud-quiet-loud structure underpinned by a strong, skeletal bass line.
‘Perfume’, Munki’s sixth track, benefits from a vocal collaboration with Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval. The group had previously teamed up with the American vocalist for ‘Sometimes Always’, the lead single from their previous studio album, 1994’s Stoned & Dethroned. Taking a more esoteric turn, ‘Perfume’ is a dark, enveloping soundscape with many a twist and turn.
Elsewhere, Munki also features the Reid brothers’ first official collaboration with their sister, Linda Reid, also known as Sister Vanilla. Linda contributes lead vocals to ‘Moe Tucker’, a fittingly percussive and fuzzy homage to the former Velvet Underground drummer. An update on the Velvets’ dark, progressive sound, The Jesus and Mary Chain season chaotic guitar lines with intriguing synth textures.
Notably, Munki marked the Reids’ first LP after signing a new record deal with Sub Pop in the US and Creation – with whom they released their debut single, ‘Upside Down’, in 1984 – in the UK. Sadly, this new deal wouldn’t prevail; just a year after Munki’s arrival, The Jesus and Mary Chain announced their break-up.
Since reuniting in 2007, the band has released one further album, Damage and Joy, which arrived in 2017 via Artificial Plastic Records. Although news of a follow-up is yet to be teased, The Jesus and Mary Chain celebrate Munki on its 25th anniversary with a special reissue.
The album will hit the shelves on October 20th and is available for pre-order online now. The Pete Maher remasters will be available across streaming, CD and vinyl platforms. A special “splatter” collectors edition limited to just 1000 copies is also available exclusive to the Fuzz Club and Mary Chain stores.
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