Once a Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize-winning documentary has been made about you -- or more specifically, about what a tragically self-destructive genius you are -- it must be difficult to release another album without catering to the public's thirst for cheap sensationalism. Anton Newcombe, the creative force behind the absurdly prolific Brian Jonestown Massacre, is now primarily known for his portrayal in Ondi Timoner's film, Dig!, which for better or worse, painted a picture of Newcombe as a musical genius destined to toil away in obscurity because of his violent bipolar behavior. Neither claim is likely to be true -- nothing in BJM's catalog suggests that he's a genius, and despite several hours of footage of Newcombe attacking band and audience members, he's probably not completely nutty, either. However, as a direct result of Dig!'s success, the public is ready to see some serious sideshow freak action from Newcombe and his new bandmates.

What a blessing for all of us that Newcombe responded with We Are the Radio, a sure and steady slab of unassuming neo-psychedelia that answers Timoner's claim of Newcombe's extremist behavior by ignoring it. It would have been very easy for BJM to exploit their own newfound celebrity status by playing into their persona as human timebombs -- much easier than releasing a modest mini-album that's pretty good. Yet here it is: a twenty minute collection of soul cleansing sitars, good vibes and fragile male/female vocals, wholly devoid of controversy.

The songs here, despite some major line-up changes, bear the unmistakable mark of Newcombe's psychedelic leanings. Singer Sarabeth Tuceck handles most of the vocal duties; her voice has the kind of Jefferson Airplane timbre that fits the album's '60s revivalist vibe better than Newcombe's. Her phrasings' trilly tails are tastefully hinted at during "Seer", but slightly hidden behind lazy layers of acoustic guitar and electronic throbs. The idea of heavy synth and electronic instrumentation seems out of place on a BJM album, but they're perfectly integrated here and in the instrumental "Teleflows vs. Amplification", whose ambient calm offers notes of such cleansing peace that it almost removes all blemishes from Newcombe's public image.

Hopefully We Are the Radio will mark the end of BJM as a sideshow and return us to the era of BJM as a band that makes really solid music, regardless of public notions of genre, fad or scenes. In Newcombe's own words, "...at the end of the day this is music. It should be listened to, not talked about."