Brian Jonestown Massacre: Take It From The Man!

I was pretty wrapped up in Britpop in the mid-'90s, but as that scene started to become a parody of itself, American bands like the Dandy Warhols, and, especially, Brian Jonestown Massacre stepped up to the plate and saved the day. The BJM released something like four albums in '95 and '96 and I remember Take It From The Man! as being my favorite from that era. BJM managed to combine the grace and songwriting chops of the best Brit shoegaze bands with a fierce and scuzzy garage rock sound that made The Yardbirds, Pretty Things and even numerous Back From The Grave and Nuggets era garage rock bands look tame in comparison. That said, I hadn't listened to this record in about five years until today, but what do you know the songs still sound as tense and urgent as they did back in '96 when my old friend Nigel at Newbury Comics in Cambridge, MA told me I needed to really buy this record. Take It From The Man! is the heaviest of the early BJM albums, but manages to have a few awesome down tempo songs like the Bowie tribute "[David Bowie I Love You] Since I Was Six."