Get the latest gossip

The Brian Jonestown Massacre review – psych-rock survivors play it safe

Anton Newcombe and co rummage through the rock history books, but lack the danger and unpredictability their reputation was built on

The Brian Jonestown Massacre arrive in the UK just before the documentary that effectively made them famous, Dig!, returns to cinemas: a “ reimagined 20th anniversary edition ”, which brings the story of the rivalry between the band and their frenemies the Dandy Warhols up to date. Regardless of their vintage, they all seem of a piece, mining a sound that, like a lot of their album titles (Who Killed Sgt Pepper?, …And This Is Our Music), is made up of reference points: the kind of riffs purveyed by the garage and psych bands on Nuggets and Pebbles compilations, the metallic jangle of the mid-60s Byrds, the blur of shoegazing and the psychedelic drone of Loop and Spacemen 3. Photograph: Peter Flude/The GuardianAs they launch into Pish or Forgotten Graves, you’re aware that Newcombe is really adept at coming up with melodies and guitar figures that sound immediately familiar, as if you know them already from a song you can’t quite place – a genuine skill – and that the music that surrounds them is a lot like old-fashioned, ungentrified indie, from an era before Britpop made alt-rock a mainstream concern.

Get the Android app