The Jesus and Mary Chain Munki 2LP

To celebrate the album's 25-year anniversary, The Jesus and Mary Chain reissue their long-sold-out sixth studio album, Munki. The vinyl has been remastered by Pete Maher (The Rolling Stones, Jack White, Liam Gallagher).

Originally released June 2, 1998, on Sub Pop / Creation Records, Munki was – up until the Mary Chain's reformation in 2007 – an experimental rock'n'roll masterclass turned swan song for the Reid brothers, whose fractious in-fighting culminated in the band's break-up less than a year after its release. It was perhaps fitting, then, that Munki is argued by some as the definitive Mary Chain record in the way it seemed to chart the full array of musical directions the band had ploughed over the five records that came before. The decision to bookend the album with Jim's rousing sing-along "I Love Rock 'N' Roll" and William's caustic white-noise anthem "I Hate Rock 'N' Roll" perfectly captures the two-fold tension at the heart of the Mary Chain at that time – a tension between noise and melody, and warring brothers.

Across the album's 17 tracks and 70-minute running time, there are the expected abrasive noise-rock epics "Cracking Up" and "Degenerate" by way of fuzzed-out pop hits like "Fizzy" and the tender acoustic slow-burner "Never Understood."

Between the Reids' Glaswegian snarls and unapologetically insolent lyrics, Munki also features two great guest appearances. Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval returns for another Mary Chain duet on "Perfume," which has a swagger that's equal parts menacing and bittersweet, and the Reids' younger sister Linda (Sister Vanilla) sings beautifully on top of "Moe Tucker"'s motorik proto-punk scuzz.