The Brian Jonestown Massacre
follow up 2015's small-scale
Mini Album Thingy Wingy
with the full-length
Third World Pyramid
, a somewhat meandering nine-track set that feels like an extension of their latter-day psych-shoegaze mixture. While bandleader
Anton Newcombe
has always maintained a healthy output, he's been especially prolific in the years leading up to this LP, soundtracking films both real (2016's
Moon Dogs
) and imaginary (2015's
Musique de Film Imagine
), while adding numerous
BJM
releases to the band's already stout catalog. Written and recorded at
Newcombe
's Cobra Studio in Berlin, the songs on
cascade out in a textural multitude of jangling guitars, horns, and voices. Lead single "The Sun Ship" is dreamy and
Beatles
que, with a robust
John Lennon
piano pulse and grandiose psych elements. The weirdly titled "Assignment Song" feels like anything but an assignment, its droning majesty clocking in at nine-and-a-half minutes. The horn-assisted "Don't Get Lost" is another highlight with an almost Brit-pop vibe and plenty of freewheeling attitude. Elsewhere, things feel a bit more unfocused and loose with a pair of instrumental tracks in "Oh Bother" and "Lunar Surf Graveyard," which are pleasant if somewhat underwhelming psych jams that resemble their respective titles. The moody astral tones of opener "Good Mourning" get the album off to a slow start, but in general there are plenty of standouts scattered throughout
that could stand up to
's best work. The fittingly titled "Like Describing Colors to a Blind Man on Acid" is a particularly strong late album track that feels like classic
and, at the rate he releases records, delivering consistently is a tough trick to pull off. ~ Timothy Monger