Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Garage-rock for the new millennium

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club are a Californian band formed in 1998 by Peter Hayes (guitar), Robert Levon Been (bass) and Nick Jago (drums, the only Englishman of the trio). At the dawn of the 2000s they made their mark through an extraordinary ability to fuse the rock-blues-rock'n'roll lessons of the Rolling Stones with the new wave aromas drawn directly from Jesus & Mary Chain, to whom they were often compared. Dressed strictly in black leather and fond of dark atmospheres, they borrowed their name from one of the biker gangs featured in "The Wild One", the 1953 cinematic masterpiece starring Marlon Brando.

Peter Hayes had a past in the hyper-psychedelic Brian Jonestown Massacre, but he aspired to build a project of his own, and chose to share it with his former schoolmate Robert Levon Been, with whom he split vocal duties. On the first two albums, Been decided to appear under the pseudonym Robert Turner, so as not to trade on his surname, well known in underground circles since his father (Michael, who died in 2010 of a heart attack at the Pukkelpop Festival while working as sound engineer for BRMC themselves) had a past as the frontman of the Call.

Signed by Virgin, on 3 April 2001 the band released their admirable self-titled debut. B.R.M.C. quickly became one of the manifestos of the new (if revivalist) American rock scene, then teeming with acts (among them at least the Strokes, White Stripes, Interpol and Kings Of Leon) who were shaping its aesthetic by drawing on significant models from the past. The bulk of the movement developed around New York, but Hayes and co. formed its proud outpost on the Pacific coast. The record contained a string of songs perfectly suited to becoming generational anthems, among which the punk-ish "Whatever Happened To My Rock'n'Roll" and the hyper-propulsive "Spread Your Love" immediately stood out for their impact. Other sharp arrows in the quiver were the opening "Love Burns", the following "Red Eyes And Tears" and above all "White Palms", marked by a thunderous bassline.

As a counterbalance, to give the project great overall balance, the band included some remarkable mid-tempo tracks ("Awake", "Rifles") plus a couple of enveloping, intense electric ballads loaded with emotion ("As Sure As The Sun", "Head Up High"). The closing "Salvation" hinted at the dusty, desert-like scenery that would be properly explored a couple of albums later.

B.R.M.C. was immediately praised by both fans and critics, standing out as one of the musical peaks of 2001 and establishing itself as a vibrant, at times even wild work, dense with contagious riffs and murky, sensual basslines. The melodic figures were often distorted by guitar feedback, superbly blending new wave and garage-rock into what would become the band's recognizable trademark, as they began to break free of the uncomfortable comparisons to the icons of the past - Jesus & Mary Chain, already mentioned, chief among them.

Two years later came confirmation that it wasn't a flash in the pan: Take Them On, On Your Own reaffirmed the same formula made up of electric assaults (with the opening "Stop" programmatic in that sense) alternating with thrilling, electrically taut modern ballads ("In Like The Rose", "Shade Of Blue", "Suddenly"). The dark streak is underlined right from the cover image chosen, a tribute to the famous "The Third Man", the 1949 noir (starring Orson Welles and Alida Valli) considered among the greatest British films of all time.

Alongside the debut, Take Them On, On Your Own perfectly defined the garage-psych-rock aesthetic of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, offering a mature and vital sound, as well highlighted by "Six Barrel Shotgun", hard, depraved, hyper-kinetic, in the best tradition of the Detroit sound brought to success by Stooges and MC5. The band's arsenal also features British spices, evident for example in the alt-pop of the extremely catchy "We're All In Love" and in the expression of the era's generational unease, conveyed in particular by the engaging "Generation".

The lyrics are enriched with a few political cues, as in the case of "Us Government", an anti-government fragment shelved two years earlier amid the emotional wave of post-9/11. The acoustic preciousness of "And I'm Aching" and the languid pace of "Ha Ha High Baby", wrapped in a blanket of loops and noise, can hardly dent the greatness of an album that finds in precisely these episodes the right pauses to set off again even more directly. So much so that the tracklist closes with three explosive tracks: "Rise Or Fall", "Going Under" and the seven minutes of psychotic delirium of "Heart + Soul", complete with a noise coda, seal a sophomore effort that confirms everything good that had been said about Black Rebel Motorcycle Club two years earlier, deservedly sending them to the top of the podium of new American rock.

Take Them On, On Your Own is an album that, although at times polished (you can feel the hand of seasoned sound engineers like Richard Simpson – who had already worked with John Denver and Christian Death – Michael Been and Ben Thackeray, the latter already a sound assistant for Coldplay and The Music), never compromises the band's "lo-fi" nature, and in that sense the choice to keep as many as five tracks in the same version found in the original demos paid off, avoiding the kind of over-production excesses that could have undermined the band's punk attitude.

The work that led to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's third album wasn't easy. The band members grew keen on shifting their sound, to avoid repeating themselves endlessly. Things were complicated by the departure of drummer Nick Jago, and for a brief period there was even talk of a possible breakup. The gleaming Harley Davidsons stayed parked this time, as the band immersed itself in a more American roots territory.

Howl, released in August 2005, opened up a new chapter, slower and more reflective, rich with nuances rooted in traditional folk, leaving the pyrotechnic assaults behind to make room for new flavors steeped in dust, sweat and bourbon. The key track on the album, an ideal bridge to the past, is the title track, a bittersweet ballad that concretely showed where Black Rebel came from and where they wanted to head.

The appeal of the overall project is remarkable: acoustic and slide guitars punctuate the whole record, while the harmonica is ready to underline the dustiest moments right from the programmatic "Shuffle Your Feet". If "Devil's Waitin'", "Fault Line", "Restless Sinner" and the closing "The Line" might seem too plodding for longtime fans, "Ain't No Easy Way" is pure fun, and "Still Suspicion Hold You Tight" outclasses most of the new wave of American singer-songwriters. The name-dropping is heavy-handed but yields intense results: "Promise" is their "Perfect Day", "Weight Of The World" their "One", "Gospel Song" their "Everybody Hurts", "Complicated Situation" has nothing to envy from early Dylan.

Howl succeeded in imposing a healthy change, demonstrating both the great versatility of the Heyes/Been duo (here under his real name) and their courage in questioning themselves despite the success achieved with their first two records. From these grooves emerges an almost spiritual soul, dense with a desire for freedom, ready to merge with a sense of melancholic nostalgia. A soul devoted to the great American folk tradition.

Six further tracks, which didn't make the final tracklist, were released a few months later on the mini-album Howl Session Ep.

With the following Baby 81, released in 2007, electricity returned to the fore. The reinstatement of Nick Jago behind the drums may have helped shift the sonic axis of the Californian band back toward their first two records. Baby 81 stands out as the most complete and multifaceted work by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, the ideal summa of the three previous albums, even if it lacks the disruptive surprise effect caused a few years earlier. The opening track, "Took Out A Loan", is the one that most harks back to their early days, yet another excellent modern reinterpretation of classic garage sound. The band plays like the Rolling Stones would if they'd debuted in the 2000s ("Berlin"), without turning their noses up at anthems capable of blowing up entire stadiums ("Weapon Of Choice", the first single released, and "Need Some Air", two tracks made to be sung at the top of your lungs).

BRMC once again prove themselves melody champions ("Window", "Not What You Wanted", "All You Do Is Talk") and absolute aces when they push the distortion to the max, even venturing into certain grunge sounds never explored before: just listen to the Nirvana-esque chorus of "Cold Wind" to believe it, referencing Nirvana. Some moments recall Howl ("666 Conducer", the falsetto of "Killing The Light", the closing "Am I Only"). But the true triumph lies in the lysergic-psychedelic rapture of the over nine minutes of "American X". Baby 81 is a sincere record, practically free of missteps, one that travels at full speed while holding the curves well; a "substantial" record, free of filler, full of undeniably successful songs. It's only rock'n'roll, but it still feels damn good.

This time too, some tracks left off the album, along with b-sides and alternate versions of already released songs, were gathered into a mini-album titled American X: Baby 81 Sessions Ep, further enriched by the presence of the short film "American X".

In 2008, drummer Nick Jago decided to leave the band for good (having already drifted away during the Howl sessions), replaced by Leah Shapiro.

That same year, BRMC contributed "Berlin" and "The Shows About To Begin" to a split release with Kings Of Leon, released on iTunes.

At the end of 2008, the trio released as a web download a convoluted and insubstantial instrumental experiment titled The Effects Of 333. After a series of upheavals with their record labels, first Virgin then the British Echo, the new work was essentially self-produced and released through their own label, Abstract Dragon. The record left both fans and critics largely indifferent, leaving no memorable mark on the Californian band's discography.

In 2009, a Black Rebel Motorcycle Club track, "Done All Wrong," was included on the soundtrack to "New Moon," one of the films in the "Twilight" saga, but many of the band's songs ended up in the soundtracks of movies, TV series, commercials and video games.

That same year, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Live (recorded between Berlin, Dublin and Glasgow, and enriched with a gorgeous photo booklet) served as the live document of the tour supporting Baby 81, with Jago still behind the drums. A snapshot sealing the band's most creative period, able to run through some of the most beloved episodes of their catalogue. The live album is interesting mainly for the video document that comes with it: the CD is in fact accompanied by a double DVD that makes the box a must for fans. Granted, filler like this (and the worrying The Effects Of 333) hinted at a clear moment of compositional stagnation.

And indeed the following Beat The Devil's Tattoo, released in 2010, didn't exactly shine for originality or ideas, settling for a watered-down reshuffle of previous experiences. Something rootsy still lingers within the folds of the title track, and even if the blade is getting less sharp, the sound remains cutting. BRMC now have a highly recognizable sound, and from their trademark come tracks like "Conscience Killer," "Mama Taught Me Better" and "Shadow's Keeper": all very catchy but often rather unfocused, and certain guitar outbursts that try to give meaning to otherwise modest episodes, like "River Styx," don't help much.

At times they go for rounder alt-rock solutions, though bordering on banality ("Bad Blood," "0,077083"). The usual acoustic interludes are provided by "Sweet Feeling" and "The Tall," while on "Long Way Down" it's the piano that takes center stage, for a ballad with a vague Lennon-esque flavor. The trio tries to be commanding on "War Machine" or "Aya," but ends up circling the same idea for several minutes without much bite, reaching peak excess in the over ten minutes of "Half-State," a psych-shoegaze-rock-blues piece that will hardly rank among the Californians' most memorable moments. "Martyr" closes things out admirably under an electric downpour, but Beat The Devil's Tattoo shows just how much better Black Rebel's output was in the previous decade.

Things didn't go any better with the following Specter At The Feast, released in early 2013. This time it opens with the psychedelia of "Fire Walker," but center stage is taken by the tribute to Been's recently deceased father, realized through a cover of "Let The Day Begin," a song by The Call from 1989. Through a partnership with the British magazine Q, a promotional EP containing the aforementioned song was released, but such marketing flourishes could hardly propel the album toward the upper reaches of the charts, given that the music itself too often left something to be desired. The swooning alt-pop (albeit enriched with distortion and slide guitar) of "Returning" and "Lullaby" cost the band points compared to any previous record, and craftsmanship could only partly make up for the dip in inspiration. What's more, the album definitively lost its bite with the atmospheric "Some Kind Of Ghost" and "Sometimes The Light."

Specter At The Feast can't really be considered a successful record, at least by the standards the band had set in the past: worn leather jackets and beautiful-and-damned stares are no longer enough to sustain a project that's starting to show its age. Peter Hayes and Robert Levon Been, sporting the same look as the eternal "motorized" rockers of 2000, can't hide the glaring dip in ideas. Their reliance on the usual garage-psych clichés of the new millennium's Rolling Stones now yields dangerously inconsistent results. They'll need to come up with new solutions in the future if they want to keep the flame alive.

Live In Paris, released in mid-2015, documents an evening held at the Teatro Trianon in Paris. The tracklist alternates fast-paced songs with moments of tremendous intensity, inspired by the venue's particular atmosphere. Both the enveloping "Returning" and "Lullaby" and the hazy "Some Kind Of Ghosts," "Sometimes The Light" and "Screaming Gun," as well as the robust "Lose Yourself" and the acoustic "Mercy" and "Shuffle Your Feet," set the mood for much of the album, skillfully interspersed with the garage energy of "Hate The Taste" and "Rival," the wild "Teenage Disease" and "Conscience Killer," and the solid guitar work of "Sell It" and "Berlin."

After dusting off a few lesser-known tracks, the final stretch of the setlist makes room for many of the band's most celebrated classics, unmissable songs capable of sparking euphoria, such as "Rifles" (no tears allowed, mind you), "Stop," "White Palms," "Spread Your Love" and "Whatever Happened To My Rock'n'Roll," which closes the show amid thunderous applause. Live In Paris thus rises to the role of a celebratory document of a band that has written an impressive number of great songs over roughly fifteen years of career.

Alongside the double album, the lavish package also includes a DVD with concert footage and the documentary "33,3%," directed by Yana Armur, which digs behind the scenes to portray the trio in an intimate light.

After five years of absence, in September 2017 the band released "Little Thing Gone Wild," the single preceding the new album Wrong Creatures, released on January 12, 2018. Wrong Creatures stands as their best work in the last ten years. The mood is the well-known one, constantly balanced between tracks that aim to renew the grand tradition of the most electric, visceral rock'n'roll ("King Of Bones," "Carried From The Start") and moments brimming with solemn intensity ("Echo," with an opening very much in the style of a U2 ballad and a bassline shaped after Lou Reed's "Walk On The Wild Side," and the closing "All Rise").

The album doesn't have the strength to match the results of their first two works, but alongside a "Calling Them All Away" or a "Circus Bazooko" that could at best aspire to being decent b-sides, we come across at least one track with the hallmarks of excellence, among the best the trio has ever written: the nocturnal "Haunt," charged with that epic quality that defined BRMC's finest moments. Between twilight-tinged moments (the opiate-laced "Ninth Configuration"), well-worn guitar riffs ("Spook," "Little Thing Gone Wild") and psych-oriented passages ("Question Of Faith" leans toward Black Angels territory), their craftsmanship brings home a record designed to reignite the interest of those who followed them passionately at the turn of the millennium.

Despite the dips in tension found in their more recent output, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club cannot help but be considered among the absolute key players of the revivalist wave that has defined new American rock since the year 2000. While offering a reworking of well-known clichés (Rolling Stones-style rock'n'roll, darkwave atmospheres), they've shown the ability to update the sound of their idols for the audience of the 2000s, through compelling, high-quality original material. While not exactly shining for originality, they certainly deserve a place among the select ranks of the best garage-rock bands of recent years.

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