Don’t Get Lost is Brian Jonestown Massacre’s first full-length to be entirely recorded in Anton Newcombe’s Berlin studio, and the city’s influence clearly has our iconic frontman excited. There’s an unmistakable krautrock feel that envelopes eight-minute opener Open Minds Now Close, a subtle 4/4 that thuds beneath Fact 67 and the slinky Acid 2 Me Is No Worse Than War could easily slip into a woozy Berghain Sunday under the right set of circumstances.

The record has been touted as something of a trip down memory lane for the band. Though one area they’ve neglected to revisit is Newcombe’s knack for writing a great pop song. And while it’s great to hear the band enjoy some psychedelic self-indulgence and jazzy interludes, I couldn’t help but feel a little cheated at the lack of hummable tunes. Still, there are moments of sheer elation to be found here. The excellent Throbbing Gristle sees Newcombe collaborator Tess Parks lay down a smoky vocal on a relentless swell of pretty distortion, a cameo from British poet Shaun Rivers lends a grim drama to the bass-heavy One Slow Breath and Rike Beinert (who you may remember from the band’s last EP) closes the album with a soft, German language spoken word piece. Things get even more adventurous with Geldenes Herz Mens, a silky, instrumental jazz meditation that somehow slots effortlessly in to the album’s decidedly abrasive core.

While it comes as no surprise that Don’t Get Lost is eclectic and experimental, it’s comforting to hear Newcombe & Co making their influences come together coherently. There’s a definite purpose to this genre-hopping, and what the album might lack in pop sensibility, it makes up for with its free-spirited charm.

Billy Black