Psycho Candy

A love of classic pop songs and sonic terrorism conspire on this euphoric collection. Fuzz guitar, distortion and feedback drench almost every track, but beneath this assertive noise lies a gift for melody inspired by the Beach Boys and girl-group genre. The contrast is beguiling and if the constituent parts are not original, the audacity of such a combination is. Understated voices and nihilistic lyrics belie the intensity forged within. Created by passionate adherents of pop culture, PSYCHOCANDY is one of the 1980s' landmark releases, inspiring some to follow a similar course, while others took similar influences to forge a quite different perspective.

Q (7/01, p.86)
- Included in Q's "50 Heaviest Albums of All Time".

Spin (5/01, p.112)
- Ranked #45 in Spin's "50 Most Essential Punk Records" - "...These diffidently tuneful jokers declared noise, timbre, and texture the new coins of the realm..."

Q (6/00, p.63)
- Ranked #88 in Q's "100 Greatest British Albums" - "...Mixes the Velvets, Iggy Pop, The Ramones, and Phil Spector to produce a morbid drill of a record....A fan letter to the darkest US rock...[it] is a bridge between 2 great British inventions, goth and punk..."

NME (9/25/93, p.18)
- Ranked #6 in NME's list of The 50 Greatest Albums Of The '80s - "...[PSYCHOCANDY drenches] the sweetest pop tunes in the most hideous racket..."

NME (10/2/93, p.29)
- Ranked #27 in NME's list of the 'Greatest Albums Of All Time.'

Alternative Press (8/01, p.112)
- Included in AP's "10 Essential '80s Albums".

Alternative Press (7/95, p.78)
- Ranked #10 in AP's list of the 'Top 99 Of '85-'95' - "...JAMC's debut LP radically updated the Velvets, Beach Boys and Ramones, dousing honeyed melodies with scouring blankets of feedback....Fantastic tunes under tons of feedback..."

CMJ (3/6/00, p.29)
- "...haunting and unique songs...[whose] radiance is buried under an impenetrable blanket of piercing white noise..."