Munki: Blue + Red Double Vinyl LP

To celebrate the album’s 25-year anniversary, The Jesus And Mary Chain are reissuing their long-sold-out sixth studio album ‘Munki’. Out October 6th 2023 on Fuzz Club, the reissue arrives on CD and gatefold double LP. The vinyl has been remastered by Pete Maher (The Rolling Stones, Jack White, Liam Gallagher). Originally released June 2nd 1998 on Sub Pop / Creation Records, ‘Munki’ was – up until the Mary Chain’s reformation in 2007 – an experimental rock’n’roll masterclass turned swan song for the Reid brothers, whose fractious in-fighting culminated in the band’s break-up less than a year after its release. It was perhaps fitting, then, that ‘Munki’ is argued by some as the definitive Mary Chain record in the way it seemed to chart the full array of musical directions the band had ploughed over the five records that came before.

The decision to bookend the album with Jim’s rousing sing-along ‘I Love Rock 'N' Roll’ and William’s caustic white-noise anthem ‘I Hate Rock 'N' Roll’ perfectly captures the two-fold tension at the heart of the Mary Chain at that time – a tension between noise and melody, and warring brothers. Across the album’s 17 tracks and 70-minute running time, there are the expected abrasive noise-rock epics ‘Cracking Up’ and ‘Degenerate’ by way of fuzzed-out pop hits like ‘Fizzy’ and the tender acoustic slow-burner ‘Never Understood’. Between the Reid’s Glaswegian snarls and unapologetically insolent lyrics – "I'm a mean motherf*cker now, but I once was cool”, “McDonald’s is sh*t!”, “Children are fools!” being just a few lyrical highlights – ‘Munki’ also features two great guest appearances. Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval returns for another Mary Chain duet on ‘Perfume’, which has a swagger that’s equal parts menacing and bittersweet, and the Reid’s younger sister Linda (Sister Vanilla) sings beautifully on top of ‘Moe Tucker’s motorik proto-punk scuzz.

1. I Love Rock 'N' Roll - The Jesus & Mary Chain 2. Birthday - The Jesus & Mary Chain
3. Stardust Remedy - The Jesus & Mary Chain 4. Fizzy - The Jesus & Mary Chain
5. Moe Tucker - The Jesus & Mary Chain
6. Perfume - The Jesus & Mary Chain
7. Virtually Unreal - The Jesus & Mary Chain
8. Degenerate - The Jesus & Mary Chain
9. Cracking Up - The Jesus & Mary Chain
10. Commercial - The Jesus & Mary Chain
11. Supertramp - The Jesus & Mary Chain
12. Never Understood - The Jesus & Mary Chain
13. I Can't find The Time For Times - The Jesus & Mary Chain 14. Man On The Moon - The Jesus & Mary Chain
15. Black - The Jesus & Mary Chain
16. Dream Lover - The Jesus & Mary Chain
17. I Hate Rock 'N' Roll - The Jesus & Mary Chain