Brian Jonestown Massacre - Who Killed Sgt. Pepper?

Perhaps the BJM's most motley selection of songs to date, Who Killed Sgt. Pepper? finds Anton Alfred Newcombe embracing both stylistic eclecticism and modern production methods to a surprising degree. Kicking off with the supple, instrumental funk of Tempo 116.7, Newcombe plots a journey that takes in thunderous rock workouts, dark ambient, languid electro and timeless, melancholy psych. Newcombe may be playing the dilettante, but with a posse of international collaborators including Will Carruthers (ex-Spacemen 3 and Spiritualized) it's no surprise that most of his artistic gambits pay off. The album is weakened by a bizarre and unwieldy Joy Division homage but tracks such as the euphoric dancefloor-destroying Feel It and the charming Dekta! Dekta! Dekta! are so strong and so uncharacteristic of the established BJM sound that one feels Newcombe has earned his indulgences. It may not make for a cohesive listening experience but nevertheless this is a remarkable collection of songs. [Mark Shukla]