When it was announced that a major label would not be releasing The Jesus and Mary Chain’s sixth album despite consistently increasing sales for all five previous efforts, it seemed that something was amiss. There was further cause for concern when the Reid siblings began assigning individual writing credit to songs after a literal lifetime of collaboration. But the surest sign that all was not well in JAMC Land came when Jim Reid began conducting all interviews with bassist Ben Lurie instead of brother William. The band tried to put on a brave face. Freed from corporate contracts, they could return as prodigal sons to Creation Records, the UK indie they had helped launch in 1984 and was now flush thanks to the success of another sibling act, Oasis. The split songwriting was explained away as part of an aborted double album concept about the history of rock ’n’ roll. And as far as interviews go, Jim always did most of the talking anyhow. But no matter how they doth protest, the William-penned lyrics to lead single “Cracking Up”—“Some said I was a freak… They said I was weak… They said I was incomplete”—were enough to merit a wellness check, something Jim acknowledged in an interview with MTV where he said, “Mentally, its been a bit like Vietnam for William over the last couple of years.” He also suggested in another interview that his brother’s issues stemmed from his on-and-off relationship with Hope Sandoval, the Mazzy Star singer whose appearance on Stoned & Dethroned’s standout single, “Sometimes Always,” gave The Jesus and Mary Chain their best-selling album. Sandoval returns on Munki, this time sounding more succubus than chanteuse on the oddly trip-hop indebted “Perfume.” There are other new sonic spaces explored on the album. Opener “I Love Rock ’n’ Roll” deploys horns, a first for JAMC, in a manner not dissimilar to how Phil Spector added sax and organ to the Ramones’ “Do You Remember Rock ’n’ Roll Radio?” Meanwhile, “Moe Tucker” pays tribute to The Velvet Underground’s enigmatic drummer with vocals by the Reids’ sister, Linda, as well as a rather un-VU Moog synthesizer part. And speaking of surprises, could anyone have guessed that the JAMC’s final album before splitting up for almost a decade would feature a drum solo?