Revelation
by The Brian Jonestown Massacre
  • Record Label: A
  • Release Date: May 20, 2014
Metascore
71

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. Mojo
    Jul 24, 2014
    60
    Familiar BJM territory perhaps, but they still inhabit a different, more enticing cosmos to their peers. [Jul 2014, p.87]
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  2. Under The Radar
    Jul 10, 2014
    75
    In some ways, Revelation plays like a hodgepodge. However, it is a beautiful hodgepodge, a hodgepodge of everything Newcombe does best and has spent the last 20 years perfecting.
  3. Q Magazine
    Jun 13, 2014
    80
    It's not settling down as anyone else might know it, but Revelation is the unlikely but lovely sound of a plan coming together. [Jul 2014, p.119]
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  5. The Quietus
    Jun 12, 2014
    80
    Revelations very much sets the benchmark by which their subsequent work will be judged.
  6. PopMatters
    Jun 11, 2014
    60
    Newcombe, encouragingly, has turned his career around from the dead-end fans feared, and while this may sound more like home studio two years of tracks solo project it is than a band effort, it will satisfy those who have stuck with BJM over the past 20 years, and it seems, will for as long as Newcombe keeps making records, more modest than before, but thoughtfully crafted.
  7. Record Collector
    May 29, 2014
    60
    The lack of a decent thread means that, while Revelation has some undoubted tunes, it remains an awkward overall listen.
  8. Blurt Magazine
    May 28, 2014
    60
    Revelation hardly pushes the boundaries of what the BJM can do, but it’s nice to hear the band reiterating what it does best.
  9. Sputnikmusic
    May 23, 2014
    80
    Even though it might not rank as essential Brian Jonestown Massacre, Revelation is a lovely experience.
  10. The Line of Best Fit
    May 21, 2014
    80
    Thirteen albums in, and the Brian Jonestown Massacre may have just delivered their most impressive album yet. Clear heads prevail.
  11. The 405
    May 19, 2014
    80
    Much like this path's brightest gems, Revelation is unique, yet strangely familiar.
  12. New Musical Express (NME)
    May 19, 2014
    70
    At times that flow can feel fractured, but the underlying consistency is a singular vision and an irrepressible sense of purpose.
  13. The Guardian
    May 19, 2014
    60
    True, Newcombe's fondness for repetition allows him to take half an idea and stretch it out until it disappears into a chorus-less fug. But it's all pleasingly reassuring, like stepping into a well-curated vintage furniture shop.
  14. AllMusic
    May 19, 2014
    70
    Without reinventing the wheel too much, Newcombe delivers another slice of his breed of highly evolved rock & roll genius with this album, further polishing his ever dangerous songwriting skills and offering a vivid spectrum of production, stylistic distractions, and psychedelic black holes for the listener to get swallowed up by.
  15. Austin Chronicle
    May 19, 2014
    67
    Revelation notches BJM's 24th release, as potent a psychedelic experience as you'll find in 2014.
  16. musicOMH.com
    May 19, 2014
    70
    Where Newcombe continues to find inspiration from, who knows, but the music still keeps on coming. And the world is a better place for it.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 11 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 11
  3. Negative: 1 out of 11
  1. adhamhany
    Aug 12, 2014
    10
    I'm quite surprised that nobody's talking about this album. This is the first album for me to hear from this band, but i'll definitely beI'm quite surprised that nobody's talking about this album. This is the first album for me to hear from this band, but i'll definitely be checking out their previous work.

    If you're into psychedelic rock and/or electronica, you need to give this a try.    … Full Review »
  2. GHarrison
    Mar 19, 2015
    7
    'Revelation', the 14th full length LP from The Brian Jonestown Massacre, a band who in their 20 years of existence have gone through many'Revelation', the 14th full length LP from The Brian Jonestown Massacre, a band who in their 20 years of existence have gone through many changes in personnel and sound is an LP which overall succeeds in its attempts to make a modern psychedelic rock album which doesn't draw too much on the mid to late 60's conventions which many psych bands are perhaps guilty of. It's an album which has nice variation throughout from the exciting and up tempo "Vad Hände Med Dem?" to the overtly stoned "Days, Weeks and Moths", the danceable groove of "Memorymix" right through to the closing track "Goodbye Butterfly". Perhaps not quite as consistent or as well produced as their last release 'Aufeben' (2012), 'Revelation' is a pleasant listen and shows that even after 20 years Anton Newcombe still has an undeniable knack for melody.… Full Review »
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