The Jesus & Mary Chain Tease Plans To Release First New Album Since 1998

Veteran Scottish alt-rock icons The Jesus & Mary Chain reunited after eight years of inactivity back in 2007 and, ever since, they've been keeping fans on tenterhooks with hints and brief mentions of their intentions to follow up their sixth studio album, 1998's Munki.

However, as Stereogum reports, despite the odd reference over the years — a 2007 interview in Billboard, a mention in Whopperjaw in 2012, a nod from NME earlier this year — the mythical seventh LP has remained more abstract concept than concrete commitment, but it continues to pop up in conversation and keep the hope alive. 

In the latest case, founding member Jim Reid was talking to Time Out New York when he dropped the news that such an album is closer than ever — in fact, the band actually in the studio (they say, anyway).

"We're doing an album now," Reid told Time Out NY. "We actually just started recording.

"It's early days, but I would say it's a more mature sound for the Mary Chain. But let's just wait and see."

Interestingly, the same interview reveals a possible reason that the band has had such a time following up on their last album, given Reid believes it never quite got the love it deserved in the first place.

"Sadly, [Munki] got really overlooked because by the time it came out, the bottom had fallen out of the bag," he said.

"Plus it was at the height of Britpop and we were yesterday's news, but it's as good as any of our records."