Amazon.co.uk Review
About a decade after its release, William Reid of the Mary Chain described
Psychocandy as "one of the greatest records ever made". The remark is indicative of a) William Reid's chronic immodesty where his band are concerned and b) the unarguable truth. Every indie guitar group since that has tried to either lend portent to a sweet melody by drenching it in feedback or render a messy guitar wipe-out palatable by stringing a semblance of a tune through it--and that's all of them--got the idea from
Psychocandy. Given that it has been reinvented, borrowed from and downright burgled continuously since its release, it is further testament to
Psychocandy that it still sounds so fresh in its own right. William and Jim Reid displayed from the off an innate understanding of how best to balance their acute melodic sense with the racket that emerged from their guitar amplifiers. "Some Candy Talking" and "Just Like Honey" are just two of the tracks which, it seems reasonable to believe, would have drawn applause from both
Brian Wilson and
John Cage.
--Andrew Mueller
CD Description
A love of classic pop songs and sonic terrorism conspire onthis 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.