The Fashionably Late Top 60 of 2014 #1d: The Brian Jonestown Massacre

2014 was quite a year. Not the best of years, on a personal level, but a rather good year from a music standpoint. Having given a listen to record after record after record from the year that was, I’ve pulled together a list of favorites, finding it next to impossible to whittle the list down any further beyond 60 (I tried). In this group of 60 you’ll find records from old, faithful friends, upstart newcomers, and even a headscratcher or two. You’ll probably see some records that were a Big Deal not on this list. I either didn’t bite or didn’t buy the hype. I’m pleased as punch with this list, and I hope you’ll come across something that might have otherwise passed you by. And so, without further ado, my favorite records of 2014.

WHO: The Brian Jonestown Massacre

WHAT: Revelation

WHEN: May 2014

WHERE: A Records

WHY: If you were aware that a Brian Jonestown Massacre record was released last year, I'm sure you were aware that it would probably end up right here, at the top of my list. Revelation is another of the BJM records that's come out after Anton Newcombe's move to Berlin, and there's a definite shadowy undercurrent of Berlin stories behind the traditional psych nuances. Newcombe and his compatriots fill the record with what they do best, exceptional musicianship and exceptionally diverse psych rock. The back-to-back, sinewy slow motion molasses of couplet "Memory Camp" and "Days, Weeks and Moths" are especially noteworthy, and definitely get this girl's heart rate going a little faster. 

My jams: "Vad Hände Med Dem?," "What You Isn't," "Unknown," "Memory Camp," "Days, Weeks and Moths," "Duck and Cover," "Food for Clouds," "Nightbird," "Xibalba," "Goodbye (Butterfly)"





[posted 5.18.15]

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