Methodrone
| Methodrone | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 25, 1995 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 71:58 | |||
| Label | Bomp! | |||
| Producer |
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| The Brian Jonestown Massacre chronology | ||||
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Methodrone is the debut studio album by American psychedelic rock band The Brian Jonestown Massacre, released in 1995 by record label Bomp!.
Content
The title of the album is a portmanteau of the drug methadone, used in treatment of heroin addiction, and the word "drone". The album's dreamy shoegaze rock sound is comparable to that of Spacemen 3 and My Bloody Valentine.[1]
Methodrone is the only album to feature vocalists Elise Dye and Paola Simmonds. Drummers Brian Glaze and Graham Bonnar were also brought into the line-up to replace Ricky Maymi who had begun playing bass in the band. It was also Graham Bonnar's only appearance in the band.
Cover artwork
The faces featured on the cover artwork are, clockwise from top left, Brian Glaze, Matt Hollywood, Anton Newcombe and Dean Taylor. The water ripple effect resembles the artwork of Pink Floyd's 1971 record Meddle.
Release
"She Made Me" and "Evergreen" were previously released as a double A-side single in 1992.
Methodrone was released in 1995 by record label Bomp!. The album was released following the departure of guitarist and founding member Travis Threlkel.
The album was re-released in 2007 on Anton Newcombe's A Records.
"Wisdom" was later re-recorded on the band's first and only album with TVT Records, Strung Out in Heaven. "Wisdom", "She's Gone", "That Girl Suicide" and "Evergreen" were included on the band's greatest hits compilation Tepid Peppermint Wonderland: A Retrospective.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
Methodrone was largely ignored upon its release, but managed to garner a favorable review in CMJ New Music Monthly, with Brian Bannin writing: "Everything moves with the slowness and presence of a disgraced monarch in exile... At its best, Methodrone has the tormented grace of accepting doom".[2]
In 2018, Pitchfork ranked Methodrone at number 33 on its list of "The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time".[3]
Track listing
All tracks are written by The Brian Jonestown Massacre except where stated
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Evergreen" (lyrics Newcombe, vocals Newcombe/Dye) | 3:24 |
| 2. | "Wisdom" (lyrics/vocals Newcombe) | 5:20 |
| 3. | "Crushed" (lyrics/vocals Newcombe) | 6:08 |
| 4. | "That Girl Suicide" (lyrics/vocals Newcombe) | 3:41 |
| 5. | "Wasted" (lyrics Newcombe, vocals Newcombe/Simmonds) | 4:21 |
| 6. | "Everyone Says" (lyrics Newcombe, vocals Newcombe/Simmonds) | 4:15 |
| 7. | "Short Wave" (lyrics/vocals Newcombe) | 2:47 |
| 8. | "She Made Me" (lyrics/vocals Newcombe) | 4:42 |
| 9. | "Hyperventilation" (lyrics/vocals Newcombe) | 9:53 |
| 10. | "Records" | 1:50 |
| 11. | "I Love You" (lyrics Newcombe/Travis Threlkel, vocals Newcombe) | 4:11 |
| 12. | "End of the Day" (lyrics/vocals Newcombe) | 5:09 |
| 13. | "Outback" | 4:07 |
| 14. | "She's Gone" (lyrics Newcombe, vocals Newcombe/Hollywood) | 7:18 |
| 15. | "Methodrone" (lyrics/vocals Newcombe) | 4:52 |
| Total length: | 71:58 | |
Personnel
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
- Anton Newcombe – guitar, bass, drums, vocals
- Jeffrey Davies – guitar
- Rick Maymi – bass
- Matt Hollywood – bass, vocals
- Brian Glaze – drums
- Graham Bonnar – drums
- Elise Dye – vocals
- Paola Simmonds – vocals
Engineering and mixing
- Anton Newcombe
- David Deresinski
- Eric Holland
- John Karr
- Jessica Wing
- Adriene Gulyassy
References
- ^ a b Raggett, Ned. "Methodrone – The Brian Jonestown Massacre". AllMusic. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
- ^ Bannin, Brian (February 1996). "Brian Jonestown Massacre: Methodrone". CMJ New Music Monthly: 31. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
- ^ "The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time". Pitchfork. October 24, 2016. p. 2. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
External links
- Methodrone at Discogs (list of releases)
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