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Darklands
Studio album by the Jesus and Mary Chain
Released	31 August 1987 (1987-08-31)
Studio	Livingston (London)
Genre	Alternative rock post-punk
Length	35:51
Label	Blanco y Negro
Producer	William Reid Bill Price John Loder
The Jesus and Mary Chain chronology
Psychocandy (1985) Darklands (1987) Barbed Wire Kisses (1988)
Singles from Darklands
"April Skies" Released: April 1987 "Happy When It Rains" Released: August 1987 "Darklands" Released: October 1987

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Mojo
Paste
Pitchfork	7.8/10
Q
Record Collector
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
Select	4/5
Spin Alternative Record Guide	8/10
The Village Voice	B+

Darklands is the second studio album by Scottish alternative rock band the Jesus and Mary Chain, released on 31 August 1987 by Blanco y Negro Records. The album is the band's first to use drum machines, replacing live drummer Bobby Gillespie, who had left to pursue a career as the frontman of Scottish rock band Primal Scream. Lead vocals are performed by Jim Reid, with the exception of "Darklands", "Nine Million Rainy Days" and "On the Wall", which are sung by William Reid.

Darklands reached number five on the UK Albums Chart, the band's highest-peaking album on the chart to date. The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Primal Scream later recorded a cover version of the album's title track as a B-side to their 1998 single "If They Move, Kill 'Em".

Reception

Ned Raggett of Allmusic observed. "Feeling no doubt burdened by the various claims of being the new Sex Pistols, and likely fed up with accusations that the walls of feedback were their own trick, the Reid brothers underwent a bit of a rethink with Darklands. The end result must have fallen squarely between two camps -- hardly eligible for sunny commercial airplay, not quite as flailing as the earliest efforts -- but, from a distance, this is an appealing, enjoyable record." noting a "often stripped away" "calmer classic rock twang and groove,". Though he felt "the changes on Darklands can be overstated -- the basic formula at the heart of the band (inspired plagiarism of melodies and lyrics alike, plenty of reverb, etc.) stayed pretty much the same" comparing its foundation to its predecessor Psychocandy (1985) despite its different sound and mood, and concluded. "Darklands is no Psychocandy in the end -- nothing the band released later ever was -- but it's still a good listen."

Nitsuh Abebe of Pitchfork praised the album in a 7.8 review saying "With Gillespie gone and replaced by an unobtrusive drum machine, the band turns down the noise attitude and works on developing the back-to-basics pop songs that were always underneath. The singles (“Happy When it Rains”) are a joy, big hooks laced with just the right amount of vintage leather-and-shades cool."

Robert Christgau of The Village Voice gave the album a B+ and observed, "they know damn well their putatively erotic-existential despair speaks to thrill-seeking normals by making chaos rhyme." and felt it was "inevitable for them to take their folk-simple hook-ditties in an acoustic direction," but concluded "Yet as a normal I miss the feedback--without all that chaos, the trick just doesn't come off death-defying enough."

Track listing

All tracks are written by William Reid and Jim Reid

2011 expanded edition

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Darklands.

The Jesus and Mary Chain

• Jim Reid – vocals (all tracks except 1, 5, 9)
• William Reid – vocals (tracks 1, 5, 9); production (all tracks)

Additional personnel

• Bill Price – production (tracks 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9)
• John Loder – production (tracks 5, 7, 10)
• Tony Harris – engineering (track 2)
• Tim Broad – video photography
• John Maybury – video photography
• Helen Backhouse – design
• Andrew Catlin – photography

Charts

Certifications

References

1. Raggett, Ned. "Darklands – The Jesus and Mary Chain". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
2. "The Jesus and Mary Chain: Psychocandy / Darklands / Automatic". Mojo. No. 153. August 2006. p. 111. ISSN 1351-0193.
3. Leven, Jeff (8 August 2006). "The Jesus and Mary Chain – Reissues". Paste. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
4. Abebe, Nitsuh (4 August 2006). "The Jesus and Mary Chain: Psychocandy / Darklands / Automatic / Honey's Dead / Stoned & Dethroned". Pitchfork. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
5. "The Jesus and Mary Chain: Darklands". Q. No. 100. January 1995. p. 273. ISSN 0955-4955.
6. "The Jesus and Mary Chain: Darklands". Record Collector. 2006. p. 87. ISSN 0261-250X. hey purposefully refined the dynamics to craft genuine pop hits...
7. Sisario, Ben (2004). "The Jesus and Mary Chain". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 429–30. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
8. Manning, Sarra (April 1997). "The Jesus and Mary Chain: Psychocandy / Darklands / Barbed Wire Kisses / Automatic / Honey's Dead / Stoned And Dethroned". Select. No. 82. p. 112. ISSN 0959-8367.
9. Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
10. Christgau, Robert (26 January 1988). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 22 January 2016 – via RobertChristgau.com.
11. "Jesus & Mary Chain | full Official Chart History" (select "Albums" tab). Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
12. Dimery, Robert; Lydon, Michael (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
13. If They Move, Kill 'Em (UK CD single). Primal Scream. Creation Records. 1998. CRESCD 284.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
14. Darklands - The Jesus and Mary Chain | Album | AllMusic, retrieved 21 June 2024
15. Abebe, Nitsuh. "The Jesus and Mary Chain: Psychocandy / Darklands / Automatic / Honey's Dead / Stoned & Dethroned". Pitchfork. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
16. "Robert Christgau: CG: the jesus and mary chain". www.robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
17. ^ Sinclair, Paul (12 July 2011). "The Jesus and Mary Chain / 2CD+DVD Deluxe Editions / Full track listings". Super Deluxe Edition. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
18. Darklands (liner notes). The Jesus and Mary Chain. Blanco y Negro Records. 1987. BYN11.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
19. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
20. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Jesus and Mary Chain – Darklands" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
21. "European Hot 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 4, no. 38. 26 September 1987. p. 18. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
22. "Charts.nz – The Jesus and Mary Chain – Darklands". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
23. "Swedishcharts.com – The Jesus and Mary Chain – Darklands". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
24. "Swisscharts.com – The Jesus and Mary Chain – Darklands". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
25. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
26. "The Jesus and Mary Chain Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
27. "British album certifications – Jesus & Mary Chain – Darklands". British Phonographic Industry. 10 November 1989. Retrieved 19 September 2021.

External links

• Darklands (Adobe Flash) at Radio3Net (streamed copy where licensed)

• 1987 albums
• Albums produced by Bill Price (record producer)
• Blanco y Negro Records albums
• The Jesus and Mary Chain albums