Home → The Jesus and Mary Chain → Cracking Up
Cracking Up
Rock · 1998 · 1 track

Cracking Up

The Jesus and Mary Chain

A late-90s transmission of psychological fraying, blending mechanical beats with the Reid brothers' signature brand of melodic, feedback-tinged gloom.

April 6, 1998 · Creation Records

Find on Amazon

Cracking Up captures The Jesus and Mary Chain at their most weary and fractured. Gone is the youthful, chaotic noise of their debut: in its place is a sophisticated, mid-tempo malaise that feels both clinical and deeply personal. The title track is a masterclass in 90s alternative rock, utilizing a steady, almost motorik drum machine pulse that anchors Jim Reid's characteristically detached baritone. It sounds like the interior of a mind that has seen too much, filtered through the lens of a band that was famously on the verge of a permanent split during its recording.

Tracklist · 1 Track
02
Rocket
3:00
Moments Worth Listening For
The way the feedback swells just before the final chorus, threatening to overwhelm the melody
The contrast between the steady, robotic beat and the increasingly frayed vocal performance
The sudden silence at the end of the track that feels like a physical drop
Where This Album DepartsEach spoke is a trait. The orange shape shows where this album pulls away from — or holds to — the rest of the artist’s catalogue. Tap for more.

How does Cracking Up sound next to the rest of The Jesus and Mary Chain's catalogue?

Mental Health+4.0σ

The writing leans far further into mental health than the rest of the catalogue.

Cassette uses generative AI to enrich its catalog. How we use AI →