One of those releases described as ‘seminal’, East Kilbride’s Reid brothers certainly had a massive effect on music in the early 1980s.
Countless bands, whether acolytes of shoegaze, noise or fragile melodies, aped their feedback-riven guitars, echoing percussion, and of course, floppy-fringed, leather and shades look. So it’s perhaps not a surprise that the band’s debut album garnered such acclaim.
The odd thing is, the Mary Chain were always about the singles – two minutes of noise, three chords fashioned into a everlasting hook. Over a full album there was much filler, replicated here in last year’s anniversary hometown performance. ‘Never Understand’ and ‘You Trip Me Up’ still thrill, but ‘Cut Dead’ is basically Buddy Holly with cooler hair.
However, with the vinyl version comes a 10” of the opening set – with ‘April Skies’, ’Reverence’ and ‘Upside Down’ showing why the band are still vital 30 years on.
(This review originally appeared in the Glasgow South Extra)