Essential earcandy: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

The brand new album from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Beat The Devil's Tatoo, is out March 8. That means it's not one ONE SECOND too early to make this post with one purpose and one purpose only: Doubtless appreciation of BRMC. Because, let's face it - dammit, this is one absolutely brilliant rock 'n roll band. With a perfect blend of noise, psych, attitude, brilliant riffs, catchy hooks and some traditional western/country inspiration, these guys have made shit loads of fantastic music.


B.R.M.C was the debut album of, uhm, BRMC and was released in 2001 - they were hyped, indeed, being a part of the garage rock revival that saw the light in the early 00's together with, among others, The Strokes that released the famous Is This It? in 2001. B.R.M.C is a no bullshit garage rock release filled with loads of energy, reverb, swampy guitars, loads of attitude and a load of really good songs. Highlights include the opener Love Burns, the AMAZING single Whatever Happened To My Rock 'N Roll, the psychedelic Rifles, and the simple but cool Spread Your Love.



In 2oo3, the sophomore album Take Them On, On Your Own was released. Reviews were mixed, but personally, I absolutely adore this album and I think it's one of their finest efforts. The sound is better, more dynamic and with more distortion on, well, everything. The songwriting here is extremely solid - heavy, dark bass lines and melodic and occasionally incredibly catchy choruses makes this album an absolute pleasure to listen to. Stop, In Like The Rose, Ha Ha High Babe, Generation, Shade Of Blue, Rise Or Fall and Heart+Soul are all amazing tunes and they're among my favorite BRMC songs.


Howl saw the light in 2005. This time, the songs were hugely inspired by Americana. Blues, country and gospel have all influenced this album - it's pretty different from the style of their first two albums. But it's not bad at all - actually, it's also brilliant! Acoustix guitars are often present here, at the result is a very organic and traditional sounding blues rock album. Ain't No Easy Way, Howl and especially Shuffle Your Feet are great tunes. I must say that in enjoy them more when they choose to rock like few other bands are capable of, but this is a very charming release, it sound perfectly good, and BRMC write fantastis tunes.


Finally, we made it to Baby 81 which is good since this album is absolutely amazing. The songwriting here is AMAZING. All songs are so incredibly well-arranged, well-written and well-played. They've grown as artists here, covering a wide spectrum of genres here - Not What You Wanted is essentially just pop, All You Do Is Talk is an athmospheric ballad, Cold Wind is a dirty acid rocker, but you'll still find the slower, psychedelic rock tunes like Berlin and Took Out A Loan and quicker, more energetic tunes as Need Some Air and Weapon Of Choice. If you're into any kind of rock, you need to check this out. Highly recommended listening!


I don't know what BRMC had smoked when they decided to put The Effects of 333 out in 2008. This one is to be avoided since it's essentially just boring. Instrumental, ambient soundscapes that are more "sounds" than they are "songs". Quite forgettable and definately not worth spending your money on unless you are the biggest fan in the world. I love these guys but this one is not worthy of the BRMC tag. Sad. Go buy everything else first!






Cheers!