Of all the reincarnations we've had of indie bands, it was surprising that it took a band until 2006 to hit upon the idea of resurrecting the Jesus and Mary Chain, complete with Velvets-aping drummer standing up. In the unlikely event you'd missed the cues they even neon signed it by with a straight cover of Be My Baby (and a darkly Spectoresque Christmas album). I don't think they took it as far as intraband scrapping, but you never know...
Anyway, with an enforced change of personnel behind the drums it looks like sordid tales of absentee dads, social workers and getting stabbed is out, along with the gloom. And again, they're not being subtle about it with frontman James Allan checking in his regulation black attire at the door and going for Persil white jeans and t-shirt. It's not quite the volte face it appears either - whilst songs such as Geraldine might've been a rare shaft of light on their debut, the key pointer towards the second album was A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like A Kiss) from their Christmas EP. But here that spark of fragile optimism, hope out of darkness, has been kindled into a roaring bonfire of joy. It might not be immediately obvious, with Allan's mumbling slur for the verses underpinned by rushing, nervy instruments. But then, the chorus hits you, a sonic Ecstasy rush of pure joy. It's so big it could eat a galaxy. But crucially, it's saved from the blandness that going big usually entails by Allan's heartfelt delivery. You can imagine he's been in the situation outlined here, screwing up the courage to ask a girl out (hence the wired verse) and the indescribable happiness when she says yes. Something's going right for a change in his world and it sounds bloody wonderful.
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