AlterPolitics

If you were told The Jesus & Mary Chain were attempting to pen a love song — a duet — this is EXACTLY what you’d hope to get from them.  Somehow they managed to incorporate their signature detached (brooding) style — something unheard of in a traditional love song — and yet it works here on so many levels.  They found the perfect female counterpart to Jim Reid in Hope Sandoval — ex-lead singer of Mazzy Star.

For me the song conjures up images of the American west — I’m thinking desert tumbleweed blowing around, Budweiser beer, Marlboro cigarettes, a young couple overcoming typical male indiscretion and indifference — both projecting the energy level of two junk addicts.  Wait a minute, am I simply recalling the treatment for the original promo video?  But there IS beauty lurking behind this lifelessness.

Over the years, I’ve continued to come back to this song, ‘Sometimes Always,’ whenever I contemplate dusting off one of the old J&MC CDs.  Here they are with Hope Sandoval performing live on the David Letterman Show in 1994.  Enjoy!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvuI911C2y8[/youtube]

The single, ‘Sometimes Always,’ or their full length greatest hits album, 21 Singles, can be downloaded here: