Despite their provocative name, this Scottish quartet is neither a Christian rock group nor a particularly sacriligious punk outfit, though some of their lyrics (”God spits on my soul,” ”How could something crawl within my rubber holy baked bean tin/It`s god to me”) are no doubt calculated to generate something that could pass for an attention-getting controversy. Nevertheless, ”Psychocandy” is a distinctive debut album from one of pop`s more promising new bands.
Big on short songs (7 per side), buzz-saw feedback, evocative imagery and a resolutely insubordinate attitude, the Chain clearly owes some debts to `60s psychedelia and genuinely ground-breaking bands such as the Velvet Underground, but their addition of a punk twist and a pop spin results in a guitar-based sound that ranks as one of rock`s more adventurous at the moment.
