Who Killed Sgt. Pepper?

Throughout the Brian Jonestown Massacre's various travels in Spacemen 3 fuzz-rock, Byrdsian jangle-pop, and Dylanesque country-blues, the one constant has been Newcombe's alternately venomous/vulnerable voice. But ever since Ondi Timoner's notorious 2004 documentary Dig! cast his erratic, sometimes violent personality in a most unflattering lens, he's seemed less willing to put himself front and center in his own music. He deferred most of the vocal duties on 2005's We Are the Radio to guest singer Sarabeth Tucek and spent the duration of 2008's nigh impenetrable My Bloody Underground submerged in a lo-fi murk. On first approach, Who Killed Sgt. Pepper? continues the subterfuge-- like its predecessor, the new album boasts cassette-quality fidelity, features revolving-door collaborations with various European comrades, and carves another couple pounds of brisket off the sacred cow that is the Beatles. But in sharp contrast to My Bloody Underground's stoned lethargy, Who Killed Sgt. Pepper? represents a genuine attempt on Newcombe's part to revitalize his band's sound. It's the Brian Jonestown Massacre album that's the least informed by the usual parade of 1960s mod/psych influences, opting instead for flirtations with disco rhythms, drum loops, boom-box beats and house-diva wails.