Ten Great Albums From 2015, #9: The Brian Jonestown Massacre Mini Album Thingy Wingy (A Records)
Christmas came early for fans of The Brian Jonestown Massacre when they dropped Mini Album Thingy Wingy in November 2015, just a few months after their ambitious Musique de Film Imaginé. Some bands openly mine the 60s to shape their sound, but with BJM, I’ve always felt as if this is a band that simply existed in the wrong decade; it’s almost as if they’ve spent the last two decades trying to get back into the wormhole that brought them here.
As evidenced by the title, this is a far less conceptualized and serious affair than its predecessor, but unhinged from these constraints the band turns a triumphant return to form. Setting aside most the recent shoegaze flourishes, this is pure blue sunshine psychedelia, heavy on the drone, the multi-track and the reverb that the band has consistently sworn their allegiance to since their very inception, and all with a winking, jokey reverence (“Here Comes The Waiting For The Sun”). From the first note of the opener “Pish”, the band takes you along for another one of its welcome wonderland trips that work not because they sound like the past, but rather because of the musicians’ obvious commitment to their genre. I would have welcomed a double album of this vibe, but getting two BJM releases in one year leaves me little room for any complaining, and in its seven-song cycle Mini Album Thingy Wingy is deliciously fat-free.
