Predicting what the next Brian Jonestown Massacre release will sound like is a foolish wager. The outfit have released 16 albums across an eclectic spread of style and technique – so what should you do this time? Do it all at once, apparently.
Anton Newcombe and co. have never retreated from experimentation – indeed, it’s their entire modus operandi – but Don’t Get Lost is an intriguing patchwork quilt of noisy atmosphere, sewn from slivers of past selves on a decade-long evolution. They fundamentally remain the exploratory shoegaze renegades they’ve always been, but the band frantically plunges into a mixed bag of genre with each throw. There’s classic acoustic-rock (Resist Much Obey Little), bass-driven funk (Melody’s Actual Echo Chamber), slick echos of garage rock (Groove Is In The Heart) and even smooth, sensual jazz (Geldenes Herz Menz). It’s the most fun they’ve had in years.
The only true issues with the album are the same that have consistently plagued the band since inception – most prominently, that at times it’s self-indulgent beyond redemption. Opening track Open Minds Now Close exemplifies this. If you can scale the odd awkward hurdle, however, Don’t Look Back proves to be a tasty ride across a cornucopia of polished possibility.
By Jacob Colliver
