The Brian Jonestown Massacre: Smoking Acid

After being totally blown away by The Brian Jonestown Massacre's show a few weeks back, we were psyched to discover that they've just released a new EP entitled Smoking Acid. Upon downloading, we were even more psyched to discover that the release has a lot to offer. The five-track disc manages to span a few genres (not surprising, given the BJM's history), and offer up an overall vibe that has a lot more energy than we've heard from the band in a while.

The first two tracks are a solid dose of fuzzed-out guitar rock awesomeness. Lyrics are barely discernable, guitars are blazing, and it's all underpinned by a solid rock drone. Think of it as classic BJM on steroids. Following that are two takes on a tabla driven track called "Tempo 116.7". The first take ("Reaching Dangerous Levels Of Sobriety") is the more mellow of the two, and towards the end has some sonic manipulations that almost made us recall Liars. The second take ("Clean Acid / Dirty Beats") is driven by an uber-clean dance beat that we'd swear is from a drum machine. About halfway through the track even cuts in with a brief hip-hop vocal sample - suffice it to say, it's new territory for the band.

The EP closes with a seriously solid rock tune entitled "Super Fucked". The track is loaded with attitude, and driven by a march-time synth line that steadily trundles on over waves of distorted guitar strums. Once Anton Newcombe's vocals kick in, the track really gets comfortable, and delivers one of the best performances we've heard from the band in a while. Without a doubt, it's the highlight of the EP.

Given BJM's notoriously prolific writing style, it's not a huge surprise to see a new EP from them. That being said, we're psyched to hear the record be so solid. It continues to support our observation that the band is in something of a second-coming mode, and that they're finally realizing the success that their talent should afford them. We're psyched to hear what's next.

mp3: The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Super Fucked