The Jesus & Mary Chain have released their latest single ‘Girl 71’ from their forthcoming LP ‘Glasgow Eyes‘.
The upbeat, retro-sounding track features buzzing instruments and a steady drum beat along with angsty lyrics sung by Jim Reid such as: “But that wouldn’t last a day / Well, nothing does, so that’s okay / Piss doesn’t touch the ground / Give up what you need.”
‘Girl 71’ is the third track to be released from ‘Glasgow Eyes’, following ‘Chemical Animals‘ and ‘Jamcod‘. Their eighth studio album is set for release on March 8 and is available for pre-order/pre-save here.
Speaking to NME in a recent interview about how they know when it’s the right time for a new record, Reid said: “The big gap between ‘Munki’ [1998] and ‘Damage & Joy’ [2017] was probably largely to do with me.
“When the band got back together I thought, ‘Well, this is OK, it’s working’ – but everybody kept saying, ‘Make a record’. I wasn’t totally against it, but I just kept thinking about how horrific it was, the studio environment for the making of ‘Munki’.”
He added that after there were “no screaming rows” making ‘Damage & Joy’, it “made us realise that that can be done now”. As to why it took so long for another to come along, Reid said it’s simply because they’re “lazy”.
Reid also shared that the band have an autobiography on the way as well as a documentary. “It’s just us talking to Ben Thompson. We just told him our story and he’s editing it all together,” said the singer. “It’s just us jabbering on about us as usual. There are a few amusing anecdotes, I guess. If you’re interested in the Mary Chain I’m sure it’ll make good reading.”
Speaking about the documentary, the singer said: “That’s very early stages. I’m not really sure how that’s gonna go. We’ve not really filmed anything too much. But again that’s us just working with Ben Unwin who made some of our videos back in the ‘90s. He’s pulling that thing together.”
The Jesus and Mary Chain are set to embark on a UK and EU tour starting next month. Check out the full list of dates below and visit here for tickets.
MARCH
22 – UK, Manchester, Albert Hall
25 – Ireland, Dublin, Olympia
26 – UK, Belfast, Limelight 1
27 – UK, Edinburgh, Usher Hall
30 – UK, London, Roundhouse
APRIL
2 – Denmark, Copenhagen, Amager Bio
3 – Sweden, Gothenburg, Pustervik
5 – Norway, Oslo, Rockefeller
6 – Sweden, Stockholm, Munich Brewery
7 – Sweden, Malmo, Plan B
9 – Germany, Hamburg, Markthalle
11 – Germany, Berlin, Huxleys
12 – Germany, Cologne, Live Music Hall
13 – France, Paris, Elysée Montmartre
15 – Switzerland, Geneva, L’Usine
16 – Switzerland, Winterthur, Salzhaus
17 – Italy, Milan, Alcatraz
19 – Austria, Krems, Donaufestival
20 – Germany, Heidelberg, Halle O2
21 – Netherlands, Tilburg, Roadburn Festival
23 – Belgium, Brussels, AB
24 – Netherlands, The Hague, Paard