Mary Chain's B-sides exhibit growth

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RATING: * * * *

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by Stephen Yang

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Beginning with the 1995 import single "I Hate Rock and Roll" the Mary Chain delivers their trademark style, which includes simple guitar riffs often faintly tinged with surfer and country-western influences. The latter are predominantly evident in Stoned and Dethroned , their third album. Another noticeable point about Hate Rock and Roll is its concentration of the Mary Chain's ever-present social criticisms. Most of the songs on this compilation focus on critcizing modern life in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Tracks such as "I'm In with the Out Crowd" and "New York City" poke at society with the Mary Chain's usual sarcasm. The greatest dose of sarcam is found in the first track, "I Hate Rock and Roll" a take- down of the music industry, evident with lyrics such as "I love MTV/I love it when they're shittin' on me."

Performance-wise, this B-sides compilation is just as good as their full-length albums. The Reid brothers do a nice job of including tracks in the style of Stoned and Dethroned , and tracks which are drenched in noise and feedback distorted guitars. "Taking it Away" and "Little Stars" have particularly captivating dark melodies coupled with Jim and William's ghostly vocals.

While the Mary Chain has never quite gone back to their Psychocandy -era in terms of noise, several tracks, including "I'm In with the Out Crowd" somewhat approach that level.

At the same time, they display the Reid brothers' progress in becoming better songwriters over the last ten years. Also notable is the inclusion of "Snakedriver," an effort that was featured in last year's movie The Crow .

If anything, this album represents another milestone in the long careers of the Reid brothers. Its style is mixed, reflecting an evolution in the style of the Jesus and Mary Chain's music.

This veteran group has grown, with better songwriting and experimentation with acoustics while still retaining the aggressive dark style from their earlier days.

This item appeared in the Arts & Entertainment section of the September 29, 1995 issue.

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