Damage and Joy
by The Jesus and Mary Chain
  • Record Label: EK OK
  • Release Date: Mar 24, 2017
Metascore
70

Generally favorable reviews - based on 26 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 26
  3. Negative: 0 out of 26
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  1. No Ripcord
    Apr 20, 2017
    60
    JAMC’s reclaim for glory is expectedly uneven: it’s as carelessly abrasive and reverb-heavy as it should be, but it’s also mounted with a heavy number of throwaways that document different periods of their celebrated past without a clear notion of how they should move forward.
  2. PopMatters
    Apr 10, 2017
    60
    The album is as much a kind of career retrospective and odds-and-ends collection as it is a new creative document.
  3. The Observer (UK)
    Mar 27, 2017
    60
    If Damage and Joy isn’t quite the echo of their pomp, neither is it a disappointment.
  5. NOW Magazine
    Mar 27, 2017
    60
    The album’s clean production (courtesy of producer Youth) and comfortable mood (nicely summed up by the song Mood Rider) is somewhat surprising and a tad disappointing. However, they don’t sound aloof, either. The mirror JAMC are holding up to the mainstream nowadays is less distorted, but still fully engaged in sharp and timeless songcraft.
  6. The Guardian
    Mar 23, 2017
    60
    It’s a lot better than it might have been, but not quite as great as one might have hoped.
  7. AllMusic
    Mar 23, 2017
    60
    It might make their fans happy, but for a band that claims to be dangerous and rebellious, it goes a long way towards reinforcing the fact that the JAMC are no longer either of those things.
  8. The Independent (UK)
    Mar 22, 2017
    60
    There’s not quite as intense a contrast between the sweetness of the melodies and the antagonistic howls of guitar feedback on this first album in 18 years, which allows the swaggering pop charm of tracks like “Songs For A Secret” and “All Things Pass” to work their magic in less edgy manner.
  9. The Skinny
    Mar 20, 2017
    60
    In all, after 18 very long years, Damage and Joy is a near-faultless return to form, even if some of these 'new' songs are actually over a decade old.
  10. Q Magazine
    Mar 14, 2017
    60
    Solid, but a little more derangement would have been welcome. [May 2017, p.107]
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  11. Consequence
    Mar 24, 2017
    58
    On the whole, everything proceeds much too predictably and with far too much caution and restraint.
  12. musicOMH.com
    Apr 12, 2017
    50
    Musically there is little to remember, lyrically some of this is challenging to forget. For a 19-year wait, this is a mild payoff indeed.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 23 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
  1. Music_Observer
    May 16, 2017
    7
    This album resurrected a youthful sound and surprisingly found true power within a simple rock n’ roll atmosphere, and is a testament thatThis album resurrected a youthful sound and surprisingly found true power within a simple rock n’ roll atmosphere, and is a testament that today’s active and astute listeners should not become numb to simplistic four-chord creativity. My Score: 133/180 (Solid) = 7.4/10… Full Review »
  2. easilyatcha
    Mar 20, 2018
    6
    it's dividing, as the Mary Chain is (scottish and all). a mixed bag.

    since Munki they have gone on a longlasting hiatus although with some    it's dividing, as the Mary Chain is (scottish and all). a mixed bag.

    since Munki they have gone on a longlasting hiatus although with some low-grade musical activity, concerned about their families (also sharing some of them on various social networks, over time), which all leans a bit too strongly into this album.

    the songs are a lot like what you'd expect from those older but still with instantaneous filth and malice filled glaswegian noise-pop terrorists.

    the always bewildered core of the reid brothers with changing n falling apart session musicians (this time with a producer who "limes" them together, albeit not much else...) is easily re-arranged but winded down & almost "too effortless".

    the guest crisp and very feminine female vocalists are spot on although a bit overindulgent and still concerned about the reids' sensuality albeit they're scottish, and swing a crucial scottish abode-ism.

    63%    … Full Review »
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