Tag: Anton Newcombe

The Brian Jonestown Massacre announce new single and U.S. tour dates.

Photo: Joe Eley

THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE announce a new single, ‘Makes Me Great / Out Of Body’, on red transparent 10” vinyl, released April 25th via Anton Newcombe’s record label A Recordings. Pre-save here. Following a hugely successful UK and Europe tour earlier this year, the band will return to North America this fall for an extensive run of live shows, including two dates with special guests, Cast, making their first US appearance in nearly 30 years. Tickets on sale now.  

It is over 30 years since Anton Newcombe – frontman, songwriter, composer, studio owner, multi-instrumentalist, producer, engineer, father, force of nature – and his band The Brian Jonestown Massacre released their first single She Made Me / Evergreen. Released in 1992, as the British music press descended on the US to anoint the next US guitar band as flavour of the month and major labels were on the hunt for the compliant hopefuls to be their latest quick fix, Anton Newcombe had an idea: say no. As leader of the Brian Jonestown Massacre, Newcombe had already established himself as a visionary songwriter, a man to whom making music wasn’t a lifestyle choice or a hipster haircut but the very fabric of existence itself, and he had observed in silent horror as his peers meekly acquiesced to everything – yes to contracts, yes to management, yes to suggestions, yes to this, yes to that, yes, yes, yes. But he was different. Anton Newcombe was going to say no to everything. “I just knew I would be more successful in a certain way by saying no, just being contrary because I figured that if people liked me they were gonna like me anyway,” he says. “Or dislike me. It doesn’t matter.”

Much of this was documented on the controversial documentary ‘Dig!’, which is still hailed as one of the best rock documentaries ever made, and celebrates its 20th Anniversary this year with the remastered, expanded version “Dig! XX.”

Brian Jonestown Massacre’s shoegazing-tinged debut album Methodrone was released in 1995 and since then numerous band members have joined Newcombe on his sonic escapades, but he has remained the sole constant, the creative mastermind at the centre of one of music’s most fascinating bands. There have been a further 20 albums under the Brian Jonestown Massacre moniker since then, each embarking on their own mind-expanding adventure and exploring the outer realms of rock’n’roll; psychedelic rock, country-blues, snarling rock’n’roll, blissed-out noise-pop and more.

Along the way, Newcombe has established himself as a once-in-a-lifetime talent who saw the direction in which mainstream indie-rock was heading and opted to take the long way round. He’s emerged as a revolutionary force in modern music, an underground hero. There was no other way, this was how it had to be. “My only option with everything in life has always been that you just jump into the fire,” he declared. “It doesn’t matter what it is.”

It’s with that spirit that he’s hopped around the globe, from the West Coast to New York, from Manhattan to Iceland, and then to Berlin, where he’s lived for 15 years and has two flats, one to live in and one that’s been converted into his studio.

After a hugely prolific 2010s that saw the release of eight long-players and one mini-album, Newcombe had been going through a period of writer’s block when one day he picked up his 12-string guitar and The Real (the opening track on previous album Fire Doesn’t Grow on Trees) came out of him. Like the kraken, it was as if he’d summoned it. “All of a sudden, I just heard something,” he says. “And then it just didn’t stop. We tracked a whole song every single day for 70 days in a row.” By the end of it they had 2 albums ready to go. Joining Newcombe in the studio for The Future Is Your Past were Hakon Adalsteinsson (guitar) and Uri Rennert (drums).

Brian Jonestown Massacre released their 20th full-length studio album The Future Is Your Past, in February 2023 on Anton’s record label, A Recordings. In 2022 / 2023, they completed a massive world tour that saw them play 34 dates in North America, 25 dates across Europe and 16 dates in the UK. Towards the end of 2024, they released ‘Don’t Look At Me’ ft. Aimee Nash. It is a delicious slice of hypnotic shoegaze with Nash lyrically casting a spell with the mantra “Do No Harm.”

There is no such thing as a defining statement in Anton Newcombe’s world anymore, just more chapters that contribute to the tale. “Nobody can stop me, I’m not asking somebody, I’m not making the rounds at Warners, saying ‘please put out my record!’. It’s just for me,” he says. He hopes he can be an inspiration to others. “I would love to see more groups, people playing music in the UK and everywhere else because I really enjoy it. That’s the only reason I need. It’s the only reason to do stuff.” That hits to the core of what makes Anton Newcombe and Brian Jonestown Massacre tick. He’ll keep jumping in that fire. That’s how he rolls. Savor it.

LIVE SHOWS: 

Sept. 3 – Cat’s Cradle – Carrboro, NC
Sept. 4 – Variety Playhouse – Atlanta, GA
Sept. 5 – Basement East – Nashville, TN
Sept. 6 – Orange Peel – Asheville, NC
Sept. 8 – 9:30 Club – Washington, D.C.
Sept. 9 – Webster Hall – New York, NY – with special guests, Cast
Sept. 10 – Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA – with special guests, Cast
Sept. 12 – The Sinclair – Cambridge, MA
Sept. 13 – Beanfield Theatre – Montreal, QC
Sept. 14 – Danforth Music Hall – Toronto, ON
Sept. 16 – Globe Iron – Cleveland, OH
Sept. 17 – Majestic Theatre – Detroit, MI
Sept. 18 – Mercury Ballroom – Louisville, KY
Sept. 19 – Hi-Fi Annex – Indianapolis, IN
Sept. 20 – Majestic Theatre – Madison, WI
Sept. 22 – Metro – Chicago, IL
Sept. 23 – Slowdown – Omaha, NE
Sept. 24 – recordBar – Kansas City, MO
Sept. 26 – Studio at The Factory – Dallas, TX
Sept. 28 – White Oak Music Hall – Houston, TX
Oct. 31 – Music Box – San Diego, CA
Nov. 1 – Pappy and Harriet’s – Pioneertown, CA

Nov. 2 – Observatory OC – Santa Ana, CA
Nov. 4 – SLO Brew – San Luis Obispo, CA
Nov. 6 – Swan Dive – Las Vegas, NV
Nov. 7 – The Van Buren – Phoenix, AZ
Nov. 8 – Tumbleroot – Santa Fe, NM
Nov. 10 – Gothic Theatre – Englewood, CO
Nov. 11 – Fox Theatre – Boulder, CO
Nov. 13 – Metro Music Hall – Salt Lake City, UT
Nov. 14 – Shrine Social Club – Boise, ID
Nov. 15 – The Showbox – Seattle, WA
Nov. 16 – The Pearl – Vancouver, B.C
Nov. 18 – Revolution Hall – Portland, OR
Nov. 20 – Regency Ballroom – San Francisco, CA
Nov. 21 – Rio Theatre – Santa Cruz, CA
Nov. 22 – Teragram Ballroom – Los Angeles, CA
Nov. 23 – Teragram Ballroom – Los Angeles, CA

TICKETS

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

[Thanks to Jo Murray!]

Review: L’Epee – Diabolique

Supergroups aren’t as rare as they used to be, and most of them aren’t as good as they should be. One comes along every now and then that is an exemplary example of the term, and L’Epee is such a band.

Consisting of Lionel and Marie Liminana (of The Liminanas), Anton Newcombe (of The Brian Jonestown Massacre), and Emmanuelle Seigner (of Ultra Orange and Emmanuelle), L’Epee’s debut album, Diabolique, is a stunning album of psychedelic rock inspired not only by the band members’ own projects, but also by The Velvet Underground, European film scores from the 1960’s (the album’s name is inspired by the Mario Bava film Danger: Diabolik), and garage rock.

The opener, “Une Lune Etrange” (“A Strange Moon”), has a French title and English lyrics. The whole album bounces back and forth between English and French vocals, adding another layer of coolness to the record. The first track brings Liminana’s guitar work to the forefront as Seigner (who does lead vocal duties throughout the record) sings about not having a care in the world as things devolve around her. She is in control of her own world and destiny.

“Lou” is a loving tribute to Lou Reed that chugs along with heady drumming by Marie Liminana and incense smoke synth and reverb effects by Newcombe. “Dreams” sounds like an unearthed Parisian garage rock single recorded in 1967. This is no surprise when you consider Newcombe has a practical warehouse of vintage gear from the era the band used to create a perfect sound to reflect the time period.

Seigner’s vocals on “La Brigade Des Malefices” (“The Hex Brigade” or “The Cursed Brigade,” depending on how you translate it) are almost spoken word poetry behind Joy Division-like beats and distorted guitars. The hand percussion on “On Dansait Avec Elle” (“We Were Dancing with Her”) is a nice touch, almost creating a waltz inside a psychedelic trip.

I don’t know if “Ghost Rider” has anything to do with the comic book characters (either the western hero on horseback or the flaming skull-headed guy on a motorcycle), but it would be a fitting song on a movie soundtrack for them. Seigner sings of “sadness all around me” as she views the world from the other side of the veil (“Baby, I’m dead.”). Mrs. Liminana’s beats are like a throbbing heart and her husband’s guitar work is like a distant echo.

“Grande” (“Tall” / “Large”) has Middle Eastern rhythms and “Springfield 61” brings in church bells to create one of the brightest songs on the album. “Un Rituel Inhabituel” (“An Unusual Ritual”) is almost an instrumental of Newcombe and Mr. Liminana going back and forth with waves of guitar while Seigner sings simple “La la la” sounds and Mrs. Liminana pounds her kit for the back of the club. The closer, “Last Picture Show,” references multiple 1960’s films (“Get Carter,” “Dressed to Kill,” and others) as Seigner sings about a mysterious woman and Mrs. Liminana unleashes relentless beats.

Diabolique is easily one of the best debut albums of the year, and certainly one of the best psych-rock releases of 2019. I hope this collaboration continues, because this is the stuff of dreams.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe while you’re here.]