|
|
|
BANDS: Punk
& Ska INTERESTS: Venues ETC... About LOTD
|
The Brian Jonestown Massacre: Bravery Repetition and Noise
The Brian Jonestown Massacre artfully blends the influence of
classic rock and 90s psychedelic/ shoegazer rock better than just about any
other band. From track to track on
their latest effort, Bravery Repetition and Noise, you get the
best of many worlds in a work that still manages to gel as an album more than
anything I have heard in a long time. The story of the Brian Jonestown Massacre is a dynamic one.
Robert Turner of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club said referring to BJM,
Every musician seems to have been in that band at some point.
There appears to be some truth to that statement, as the credits on Bravery
Repetition and Noise include no less than eleven musicians. Yet, Anton Newcombe, the one steady force behind the band,
manages to sustain a sound on this latest release that has been uniquely
identifiable over the course of the bands 12-year existence. With this album, the Brian Jonestown Massacre joins the ranks
of the growing number of great bands (Guided By
Voices, The Connells) that have stuck their toe
into the pool of TVT Records, only to find out that the water was too cold.
The band released the somewhat slicker Strung Out In Heaven on TVT
in 1998, after which key members left the band. On the darker Bravery Repetition and Noise, BJM
returns in full force to the psychedelic drone the band is best known for.
Ever present throughout is Anton Newcombes British accent
complemented by everything from acoustic guitar to mellotron flute; from mini
moog to woodwinds and horns. And
then of course theres the fuzz - at first I thought that this album gelled
so well that there werent any standout tracks, but the more I listened,
Sailor began to stand out in all its glorious fuzz and noise. The band uses its wide variety of instrumentation to
experiment with different styles. You
Have Been Disconnected has guitars that almost jangle, while Leave Nothing
For Sancho has a definite Spanish feel, with its 3-beat rhythms, finger-style
guitar, and tambourine. The track, If I Love You appears twice; the second
version is the New European Gold Standard Secret Babylonian Brotherhood
Cinema Mix. The two versions dont differ greatly except for four
minutes of melodious noise tacked on to the end of the New EuropeanMix,
which made me wonder why they bothered putting the first version on the CD. If there is a weakness to this album, it lies with the
lyrics, which at times seem too simple for the complex music that engulfs them.
Whether or not that was the intent is not obvious, but this shortcoming
does not detract greatly from the album. In
fact, the vocals are often incomprehensible as a result of Antons lo-fi
British moaning which seems more important to the music than what he is
actually saying.
LEFT OFF THE DIAL's Brian Jonestown Massacre page About LOTD Contact/Staff Advertise Home All content © LEFT OFF THE DIAL 2001-2005. All rights reserved. |
