Fuzz Club Schallplatten & CDs

Review: When Jesus & Mary Chain reunited in 2007 there were tons of questions about what this would mean for their music, music in general, and the planet. Well, OK, maybe more their music. The notorious 1998 on-stage implosion between brothers William and Jim Reid was a culmination of tension between the siblings that afforded the band their inimitable conflict of sound, but also seemed to call definite time. It would be another decade before they attempted to work together again, with a show at Coachella, then another ten years passed while they figured out where from there. In the end, Damage & Joy was the answer, 2017's album, co-produced by Youth in a bid to bring in a potential mediator should things go sour. They didn't, and the record was well received - somewhere between old JAMC and a new era. Now we have Glasgow Eyes, an extension of that. Rather than born of conflict, tracks feel united in a common goal, synths rising to the fore above guitars, combative tones receding in favour of comfortable juxtapositions and contrasts.

Review: The Vacant Lots is a Brooklyn based duo who drops their new album this Autumn. It was written under isolation during the Covid pandemic and is quite possibly Jared Artaud and Brian MacFadyen's best work yet. The eight tunes might be minimal in design but they are maximum in intent and intensity with minimalist post-punk/synth-pop sounds all coming on strong. Over the top of the sounds comes smart, pithy lyrics with plenty of guitar agues and a darkness that brings to mind New Order and Jesus And Mary Chain. Add in the ever present spirt of New York and you have a fine album.