I recently saw The Brian Jonestown massacre at 013 Pop podium, in Tilburg. Coincidentally, this was only three months after seeing their old frenemies (as presented in the famous Dig! documentary), Dandy Warhols. Since the two concerts weren't so far apart, the similarities and differences between the two bands became more pronounced: musically, both bands seem to derive inspiration from the psychedelic 60s. The DW include more funk and electronic elements while The BJM have a more classicist approach. Both bands veer into experimental psychedelia, but not too far. Both have catchy songs, but only one found success, and the reason is probably their stage presence: The DW have a very energetic live act, while BJM singer/bandleader Anton Newcomb just stood on the side of the stage, facing the band rather than the audience, barely bothering to interact with anyone. Who was front and center, at the position of the frontman? the maracas player - no kidding, the band has a full-time maracas player! (OK, he occasionally also plays the tambourine). Not to mention 3 guitarists, including Anton himself. At some point, the keyboard player also took up a guitar, which brought us to a total of 46 strings: three 12-string guitars, a 6-string, and a bass playing onstage. A new record among concerts I have witnessed; the previous one belonged to Joanna Newsom and her band: Joanna Newsom plays the harp, which is a 34-string instrument, yet she comes second in this weird contest. In the end, Anton had a few angry words with his guitarist, and left without playing an encore. "Classic Anton" was the remark of the girl standing next to me. Now I know why he he needs so many guitarists in the touring band - they must quit on him all the time!
Anyway, from the abundance of goodies at the merchandise stand (everything except vinyl, which they had run out of) I chose two CDs at random: this (because it was their latest) and an older one, because it contained the biggest amount of songs. It sounds about how I expected it to: as always, quality songwriting with nods to 60's garage and psychedelia, especially The Velvet Underground but also The Yardbirds, Stones, Doors, and early Pink Floyd. Also many similarities to the indie/shoegaze scene, but probably weren't influenced by them as they are contemporaries - The BJM have been around for 35 years now! The Future Is Your Past is their 20th LP; it was written along with its predecessor during the COVID-19 lockdown. Supposedly this ended a period of writers' block for him. Writers' block? the guy had released one album per year in the six years that preceded the pandemic! Anyway, during the pandemic Newcomb locked himself in the studio and came out with two virtually finished albums. Fire Doesn’t Grow on Trees was released first, and got slightly superior reviews, but the songs on The Future Is Your Past are no leftovers. Indeed it is a consistently good and varied collection, which makes me think that there's probably much more where it came from, left behind on the cutting room floor. Opener "Do Rainbows Have Ends" is a catchy melodic song with jangly guitars sporting a somewhat drawling vocal. This is followed by "Nothing Can Stop the Sound" another mid-tempo song with swirling Doors-y organ. I love the consistent and emphatic repetition of the title, which also makes for a great slogan. My girlfriend said it reminded her of Joy Division, which I wouldn't have thought of myself, but yes; the keyboards and vocal are similar - of course Joy Division were also massively influenced by The Velvet Underground and The Doors. "The Light Is About to Change" is a boogie with a heavy groove, while "Fudge"s dreamy intro gives way to hazy shoegaze psychedelia. These are followed by a bunch of slower, more experimental, tunes: "Cross Eyed Gods" (atmospheric, almost gothic) and "As the Carousel Swings" (strongly reminiscent of VU, of the John Cale period). "The Mother of All Fuckers" is a bit more drony/noisy, while "All the Feels" sounds like a Syd Barrett tune. The album picks up speed with a short and fast garage rocker ("Your Mind Is My Cafe"), and closes with "Stuck to Yous", a plaintive ballad slowly gathering steam to bring the album to a turbulent finale. I haven't listened to BJM's full discography, but this may be one of their best, and certainly most accessible, albums. The band included two songs from it in their setlist in the Tilburg concert, so these are the ones I chose as sample videos for this post. Enjoy!
**** for Do Rainbows Have Ends, Nothing Can Stop the Sound, Fudge, As the Carousel Swings, Your Mind Is My Cafe, Stuck to Yous
*** for The Light Is About to Change, Cross Eyed Gods, The Mother of All Fuckers, All the Feels
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