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
Buy Now
Buy on
  1. Magnet
    Apr 26, 2017
    80
    Waves of corrosive guitar distortion surfing minimal, hammered eighth-note bass and programmed beats, with just enough feedback to aid recollection of the band that created Psychocandy. [No. 141, p.59]
    All this publication's reviews
  2. DIY Magazine
    Mar 24, 2017
    80
    Their sound may have matured, and may be more accustomed to a laconic calmness, but Damage and Joy still burns with purpose and when it throws its punches it lands them with ease.
  3. Mojo
    Mar 2, 2017
    80
    Song-for-song Damage And Joy is the most rewarding Jesus And Mary Chain album since their prime. [Apr 2017, p.92]
    All this publication's reviews
  5. Uncut
    Mar 2, 2017
    80
    If anything, Damage And Joy underscores the Mary Chain's strengths. [Apr 2017, p.36]
    All this publication's reviews
  6. Record Collector
    Mar 2, 2017
    80
    60s references, bloody mindedness, affairs of the heart and a whole ton of drug references make for a perfect storm. But what comes through clearest is the agelessness of the music they make.
  7. Under The Radar
    Mar 23, 2017
    75
    Don't expect an album in the style of Psychocandy or even 1987's Darklands. However, if you've been following them closely, this makes sense. More importantly, the songwriting and playing here are more assured than their legendarily ramshackle live shows would lead one to believe.
  8. The Line of Best Fit
    Mar 21, 2017
    75
    The Jesus and Mary Chain are trapped in amber on Damage and Joy, untouched by the very different musical climate to the one they last sent an album out into. Good job, then, that it contains far more hits than misses.
  9. Spin
    Mar 28, 2017
    70
    The result is a satisfying if not uneven release that never drags in its lament, looking toward the next ballad lost among the chaos. Richly produced fuzzed-face guitars and clattering percussion accentuate the band’s classic noise-pop formula without ever feeling staid.
  10. Drowned In Sound
    Mar 27, 2017
    70
    Although not entirely perfect. And it's highly unlikely even the most wisened Mary Chain diehard would have expected it to be. Damage and Joy heralds the dawning of a new era in its creators' colourful history, providing a worthwhile addition to a canon of musical eminence in the process.
  11. Rolling Stone
    Mar 23, 2017
    70
    For their first album since 1998's Munki, picking up right where "I Hate Rock 'n' Roll" left off. Damage and Joy is full of fabulously morbid gems.
  12. The Quietus
    Mar 22, 2017
    70
    This is a cautious yet dignified return that allows the Reids and their associates to spend even more time together than they’d have expected to create something positive rather than engaging in an orgy of self-destruction.
  13. Exclaim
    Mar 22, 2017
    70
    The best way to enjoy Damage and Joy is to leave their past out of it. Psychocandy was 32 years ago, and the Reids are now pushing 60. The fact that they've come back at all is a remarkable thing. But doing so with an album that lives up to expectations is all we could have asked from the Reids.
  14. Classic Rock Magazine
    Mar 2, 2017
    70
    This album is as good as we could expect from the Mary Chain in 2017.
  15. Pitchfork
    Mar 20, 2017
    67
    It feels more like an intimate recording project than a live band document, mostly splitting the difference between routine electro-Stones rave-ups and strung-out ballads.
  16. Paste Magazine
    Mar 14, 2017
    62
    The production on Damage and Joy is so clean and crisp that it makes the Mary Chain’s trademark clamor sound really purposeful (and nobody likes a tryhard). Second, the the Reids’ lyrics are so on-the-nose unremarkable (on “Mood Rider,” they rhyme “lust,” “must,” and “dust”) that they lose all ability to connect. Still, Damage and Joy is hardly unlistenable.

User Reviews

All reviews »
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 »
See all user reviews »