Biography
The nickname Sister Vanilla originated with Linda Reid thanks to her elder brothers William Reid and Jim Reid, who are widely recognized by music listeners as the driving forces behind the groundbreaking noise pop outfit the Jesus and Mary Chain. Although Linda remained a schoolgirl during the band's initial wave of success in the mid-'80s, she had developed into a gifted vocalist by the recording of the group's concluding album, Munki, issued in 1998. William and Jim asked her to contribute vocals to the track "Mo Tucker" at those sessions and brought her along on the road when the band toured in support of the release. The group disbanded less than a year afterward amid bitter disputes, yet Jim and William suggested making a full album to showcase Linda's talents. Work on the project unfolded gradually across several years, alternating between a home recording rig set up in Linda's flat and JAMC's studio The Drugstore, with the Reid siblings accompanied by Stephen Pastel of the Pastels and former JAMC member Ben Lurie. Because of ongoing tensions, Jim and William typically laid down their parts at separate times. The resulting album, Little Pop Rock, appeared in 2005 on the Japanese P-Vine label under the name Sister Vanilla and was welcomed by critics and JAMC followers alike as a pop-wise, slightly sunnier take on the band's trademark sound. During spring 2007 the Glasgow-based Chemikal Underground label issued Little Pop Rock in the United Kingdom just as the Jesus and Mary Chain launched a low-key reunion.