Mazzy Star- Among My Swan (1996) MP3 & FLAC

"Take away everything that feels fine. Catch a shape in the circles of my mind."

Mazzy Star's final (?) album, Among My Swan, has long been saddled with the reputation of being inferior to the band's two earlier LPs, She Hangs Brightly  and So Tonight That I Might See. The arguments for this have ranged from "sounds too similar to the previous stuff" to "sounds too dirge-like to retain listener interest." This negative critical response was partly due to the fact that three years had passed since the release of Mazzy Star's breakthrough second album, and the hushed confidence of Among My Swan, despite evidencing a number of subtle changes to the band's sound, was deemed an unworthy product for such a long hiatus. It is true that on Among My Swan, David Roback has turned the reverb (and thus the pysch-haze) dial down a notch or two, but in its place are many new textural nuances, such as glockenspiel and harmonica, that allow the songs to tread in a slightly less claustrophobic country-folk direction. The first single, "Flowers in December," is a perfect example of this. Here, Hope Sandoval's harmonica takes the melodic lead that would have been handled by Roback's guitar on one of the previous albums. This gives the song a distinctly desolate feel, and opens things up for one of Sandoval's best vocal turns. Conversely, on "Roseblood," the psych-rock gloom returns with Sandoval's vocal at its sleepy-sultry best, but what really pulls the song together is the backwards guitar effects that handle the main instrumental breaks. A masterstroke Mr. Roback. Rather than their "weakest" album, Among My Swan is their most "underrated" album, a distinction that, while wholeheartedly undeserved, makes this album ripe for rediscovery.

The Jesus and Mary Chain- Darklands (1987) MP3 & FLAC -For oh hi there-

"She can take my darkest feeling, tear it up till I'm on my knees."

After Psychocandy, The Jesus and Mary Chain found themselves at something resembling an artistic crossroads. In retrospect, their debut was one of the most important records of the decade, but at the time of its release, there were many who saw its prevalent use of feedback as a gimmick. Of course, those who gave Psychocandy anything more than a cursory listen could tell there were some great songs bubbling up through the haze, so on their follow up, the Reid brothers opted to dial things down a bit. On Darklands, the songs seem more rooted in the existential twang of Lee Hazlewood than the arty dissonance of The Velvet Underground; as a result, the production is noticeably cleaner than on the previous album even if the subject-matter is as dark as ever. Songs such as "Deep One Perfect Morning" and "On the Wall" explore, in different ways, the pain born out of infatuation for another person, and each hit their mark by marrying deadpan Lou Reed-style vocals to big hooks. While not as influential as their debut, Darklands represents an artistic highpoint for The Jesus and Mary Chain, which they would spend the rest of their careers chasing under ill-fated stars. 

The Jesus and Mary Chain- Psychocandy (1985) MP3 & FLAC -For oh hi there-

"It's so hard not to feel ashamed of the loving living games we play each day."

Most critics tend to describe Psychocandy as something of a mash-up of Beach Boys-style harmonies and Velvet Underground-inspired dissonance, and while these are unquestionably major elements helping to sculpt its overall sound, such descriptions tend to overlook just how singular this landmark album actually is. At the time of its release, Psychocandy was notorious for its piercing squalls of feedback, but looming just beneath this Noise-Rock veneer are some of the most achingly beautiful songs you're likely to hear. For example, on "Just Like Honey," the Reid brothers' naively laconic vocal harmonies coupled with the reverb-soaked production create an unlikely, and somehow perfect, marriage of Motown and Pych-Rock. To call Psychocandy "influential" does it no justice at all; the truth is, much of what followed in its wake, including everything from Shoegaze to Lo-Fi, owes a deep debt of gratitude to this album. If you've never heard Pscychocandy, I'm supremely envious; I would give anything to hear this album for the first time again.

The Jesus and Mary Chain- "Just Like Honey" Video (1985)

Does feedback sound any sweeter than this?