Album Review: The Brian Jonestown Massacre – ‘Who Killed Sgt. Pepper’

Eleven albums in and Anton Newcombe still loves to hate

BJM leader Anton Newcombe is the world’s angriest hippie, forever in thrall to the aesthetics of ’60s psychedelia but hardly a fan of peace and love, as a stormy band history attests. ‘Who Killed Sgt. Pepper?’ is the ‘methodrone’ masters’ umpteenth exercise in narcotised dream-rock. Flitting between ambient sequences and army-of-guitars maelstroms, this 71-minute magnum opus was recorded in Berlin and Iceland, but loaded with rampant Anglophilia, evident in a [a]Joy Division[/a] homage and John Lennon interview clips. ‘Someplace Else Unknown’, meanwhile, captures Newcombe at his most malevolent. “I hate people,” he whispers, as the flowers in his hair turn black

Niall O’Keeffe

Click here to get your copy of The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s ‘Who Killed Sgt. Pepper’ from the Rough Trade shop.

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