Who Killed Sgt Pepper? [Import]

this is a gatefold double LP, the vinyl is cream with a raspberry splatter, physically the presentation is just gorgeous. but even better: this is mastered and pressed exceptionally well. the bass is deep, the tonalities are rich, the sound is completely fabulous. if this music were a church then the mp3's take you to the porch/foyer and the vinyl is a venture through the temple into the sanctuary. it is high quality.

that's it for the physical specs. as for the album itself, it flows. it's an arrangement of songs that create a semblance of a whole. i'm not going to describe song by song, because you can listen to it in full length at the band's web site via a series of entertaining youtube videos, streamed for free. so decide for yourself. personally i find the entire album completely enjoyable, cohesive and strong. try "feel it" for an introduction. some of the songs are super heavy, some clearly experimental, and just layers of influences, nods, and conceptual artistic exposition. overall very engaging. there are interviews etc all over the web if you are interested in deconstructing the material, as for me, i'd rather just spin the vinyl and feel it.

Brian Jonestown Massacre came back from the music wilderness with a very fine 2008 album "My Bloody Underground", and Anton Newcombe & Co. have been busy ever since, with several other EPs since then, and now comes the band's 10th proper studio album. Of interest is that this album marks the return of original guitarist Matt Hollywood.

"Who Killed Sgt. Pepper?" (13 tracks; 72 min.) departs from the earlier sound at times, less psychedelic, and with good result. The opener "Temp 116.7 (Reaching for Dangerous Levels of Sobriety)" is a mostly instrumental, grooving track, of which there are plenty on this album. It is followed by "Tunger Hnifur", which is an all-out rocker. "This Is the First Of Your Last Warning (Icelandic)" is another heavy instrumental. "This Is the One Thing We Did Not Want To Have Happen" somehow reminded me of Joy Division, of all things. "Detka Detka Detka" is the lightest tune on here, and irreverent at that. "Feel It" is another rolling tune, and one of my favorite tracks on here. As with many BJM albums, there is also a lot of excess (and isn't that exactly the point of it?), none more than the 10+ min. closer "Fett Tipped Pictures of UFOs", which goes nowhere and is simply unnecessary. Cut a couple of the weaker tracks, make it a 50 min. album and we're talking 4.5 stars. But then again Anton Newcombe is gonna do what he's gonna do.

BJM's touring has been sporadic over the years, although it's getting better in more recent times. I saw the band for the first time in 2007 at the Monolith festival at the Red Rocks in Colorado in 2007, which was tension-filled from start to end, Anton was not having a good day apparently and it wasn't clear they would make it through the entire set but somehow they made it through. Saw them again at Coachella last year (with Matt Hollywood in the line-up) and that was a much more relaxed affair, with great result. BJM is starting a massive world tour in support of this album shortly, and they'll make a stop in Cincinnati in June. You can bet I will not miss that. Meanwhile "Who Killed Sgt. Pepper?" is a fine album, and a must for any BJM fan.

Biased and "hip" sources have consistently accused Anton and his entourage of international psych-masters of overplaying the same chords in one song or sounding lo-fi and not progressing since (name any pre-2008 album here)... It sucks and simultaneously feels rewarding to say that this band belongs to it's rampant die-hards and cult-like fans. Even seeing them live, you can always pull out the fakers in the crowd who don't dig the density of the band. Honestly, from an outside perspective, I would say that "Who Killed Sgt. Pepper?" deserves a 10 out of ten from every smack talking reviewer out there. First off, the album features songs done in 3 different languages. That being said, no, it's not Spanish, French, and English... In fact, it's Icelandic, Russian, and English. My first point being that Anton travelled far and worked hard to find some fantastic singers outside of the bubble within the United States here. Secondly, he is not exactly stepping down from the vocal spotlight because of the impact of "Dig!" or whatever you might want to make up in your head; he's sharing the spotlight and helping foreign psychedelic artists out who do not have as big of a psychedelic rock movement in their towns/cities. The singer on "Detka! Detka! Detka!" is none other than Felix from Amazing Electronic Cave (a fantastic St. Petersburg based musician who makes some killer psych rock, check him out)... His vocals are really unique and his presence on the album is extremely different and appealing, throwing in Russian folk influence as much as synth pop. Those two influences I just mentioned don't seem to fall into the older discography, do they? Well, there's another reason to listen. Thirdly, I read a review on Pitchfork media that said that the song "Felt Tipped Pen Pictures of UFO's" was a bit too much and that "the Scottish woman ranting about a John Lennon movie" was ridiculous, and so on and so forth. Scottish woman? It's Anton's wife coincidentally and um, don't think she's Scottish... Anyhow, the song isn't a disaster in the slightest bit if you listen to it in the right situation. I once put it on at a party just this past January, and while people were interested, it wasn't a dance tune. But who ever said it was or had to be? I suggest listening to it alone, and on repeat... It has some awesome audio clips, a really spaced-out but well plotted synth loop, and of course, Anton's wife conversing about "Dead Famous," which is truely worth listening to, because it's food for thought and not some soulless pop radio hit.

If you're already a fan of the band and it's associated acts, well, you're probably not reading this-- you're probably listening to it right now. I actually only wrote a review now because I saw there was very few and I felt enraged by the "indie" media's rotten portrayal of a fantastic album that has a song to suit just about anyone. You've gotta learn, Anton is an "everything" sort of artist; he's not going to back down and release worse music as he ages, he keeps trucking continuously in the music world, dabbling in every style and trying out new things. Doesn't anyone get tired of the same sound over and over and over with a lot of modern bands? There's pretend and there's real, and this here is real-- a product of the world.