Tempo No Tempo - Waking Heat (Album Review)

Taking cues from the dance spazz outs of Gang of Four, the angular rhythms of Fugazi, the loose nervous energy of Wire and enough Sonic Youth inspired warped experimental sounds, to create an album that is equivalent to a jubilant celebration of rock n’ roll in all its viral ecstasy, are San Francisco Bay Area’s Tempo No Tempo, one of the most reinvigorating bands to come out of indie rock scene in recent years.

Think a darker and grittier version of dance punk stalwarts Q and Not U, and you might begin to understand the draw of their debut LP ’Waking heat’ as evident on the opening track ‘The Rat (part one)’, with its tightly wound rhythm section of bassist/keyboardist Jason Wexler and drummer Alex Kaiser designed to instantly grab your attention.

The following two tracks in the record however, share more than a striking similarity with each other, with ‘Pole Position’ ending up sounding like a watered down version of the much stronger and vibrant ‘Kilometer’. Adrenaline charged, the latter is perhaps the best illustration of the band's restlessness, a song that will almost certainly instill in listeners the manic tendency to ecstatically jump up and down and pump their fists. Feisty and vivacious vocals from guitarist and front man Tyler McCauley render this track, a rollicking single with an undeniable grooving catchy chorus.

With that out of the way, the floodgates open on a series of rapturous tracks, each song emphatically exploring innovative ideas as the album ultimately takes on a life of its own. Be it the insistency of ’Lay Your Magnets Down’ a number teetering on screamo territory, or the omnipresent dub bass line of ‘Get Down, Stay Down’ one that would do Jah Wobble proud, it serves as an enjoyable lead in to the stand out tracks of this record.

‘Kindercare’ merges arresting atmospheric drama with their signature post punk antics to create a song that wouldn’t seem out of place on a post rock album had it not been for some brilliant vocal work and a melody guaranteed to stick in your head for days.

The sum of its musical elements, ‘Medicines’ combines the best traits in the bands arsenal to give a top notch song filled with sharp and jagged guitars, coupled with a bouncy, effervescent rhythm section featuring fluid reggae bass lines and polyrhythmic rolling beats. Emotive vocals together with electrified bursts of melodic frenzy help make this a dark and noisier take on dance punk, but still retaining a noticeable drive and melody.

Although more traditional affairs like ‘Line Drawing’ and ‘Get Young’ don’t showcase a substantial range or add to the overall effectiveness of the record, they, at the very least add a required urgency to the stalled post punk genre. Closing the album with a delicate guitar line and harmony, the ‘Band of Horses’-esque ballad ‘Half Asleep’ is a more subdued effort and in major contrast to the rest of the album which stood for youthful exuberance, the likes of which rock n’ roll should sorely lacks.

Their willingness to explore new sounds and styles make while maintaining a trademark “joie de vivre”, make them a sight much more interesting than the other musicians of the day, priming them to be the rock n' roll outfit to carry the torch of modern dance rock into the next decade. This is truly indie rock with a passion.

Sam Roberts Band (The BIG M May 2010)

Triple Juno award recipient and prolific singer/songwriter Montreal native Sam Roberts is often described as the definitive voice in a collection of American and Canadian bands centered on 70’s classic rock nostalgia. But in reality, this former hockey player has so much more going for him. Through three albums of passionate and infectious folk-rock and power-pop tunes, many of them built around a percussively strummed acoustic guitar, Roberts has breathed new life into a very dry, dull Canadian music scene (Sum 41, Nickelback). By means of odd references to Canada in many of his songs (even singing in French for a few verses of ’No Sleep’) he maintains a staunch national identity but that certainly doesn’t limit his appeal to a strictly Canadian audience.

With tune crafting skills which have the ability to stand up well next to early Brian Wilson and Paul McCartney material, Sam Roberts’ first full length LP ‘We Were Born in a Flame’ presents a lush and enjoyable listening experience. Along with compelling and inquiring lyrics, Sam Roberts is also an interesting musician who decides to play all the instruments except for percussion on this album. A risky move no doubt, he manages to pull it off with conviction with the record ending up sounding grander and richer than it ought to be.

The album is rich in instantly memorable hooks which will find you tapping your feet within the first 30 seconds of ‘Hard Road’ - the opening track. Along with the uber-catchy clap along ‘Brother Down’ and the gorgeous and seductive orchestral pop of Beatle-esque ‘Taj Mahal’ which makes the most of Roberts’ talents as a violinist, Hard Road is a stand-out track and contains some gripping and intelligent lyrics, something of a rarity in today's formulaic music world. Robert’s writes with eloquence about the universal human effort of finding the easy life and avoiding the bumps of the real world. When he opines, "There's no road that ain't a hard road to travel on", he is able to chronicle the troubles of life in this fallen world without offering therapeutic platitudes like "believe in yourself" or something similar. On this record, Roberts chooses to narrate the problems of humanity and creation rather than offer solutions and in doing so manages to escape falling into a moralistic outlook blatantly prevalent in popular media and music. ‘Paranoia’ finishes off this pervasive album, starting out as an acoustic piece before ending as an upbeat, driving instrumental. Overall, an impeccable combination of guitar, percussion, and piano makes this CD worth multiple listens.

Released in 2006, Roberts’ second release ‘Chemical City’, with its share of rockers, ballads, and artistic experimentations is a very well rounded album. Backed by a group that would continue onto the next album, Dave Nugent (guitar), Eric Fares (keyboards), James Hall (bass) and Josh Trager (drums) helped craft this album with its folky-1960's rebellious feel whilst throwing all notions of a sophomore slump out the window. Starting off with the psychedelic rocker ‘The Gate’, the albums mood soon shifts towards an alternative mode for tracks ‘Mind Flood’ and ‘Mystified Heavy’. ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ with its sing along melody is an instant classic, while ‘The Bootleg Saint’ and ‘The Resistance’ call to mind mid era Rolling Stones. Chemical City also sports two folkier tunes, the lovely acoustic ‘Uprising Down Under’ along with the emotive keyboards, and the vocals-only heartbreak song ‘A Stone Would Cry Out’. A much more rough-around-the-edges album, Roberts’ balances the strong melodies and anthemic choruses with some affecting subtle pieces. There is a strong sense of cohesion among these extremely well crafted songs with lyrics that see him wise beyond his years.

The latest offering from the Sam Roberts band ‘Love at the End of the World’ sees them at their most potent while delivering on the same bluesy hard rock formula, supplied with abundant pop hooks and mixed in with a little psychadelia when needed as seen in beguiling ‘Lions of the Kalahari’. ‘Up Sister’, ‘End of the Empire’ and the forlorn ‘Waking the Dead’ stand out among other eclectic tracks of the album ending with a piece featuring off the wall lyrics set to a piano driven tune in the captivating closer ‘Detroit '67’.

In retrospect, Sam Roberts represents the perfect example of the modern singer/songwriter. With songs that range from bouncy, fun loving to a mellower sound, combining rock & roll fundamentals with folk influences, he is able to extract old influences and creatively rework them to create a unique original sound and deliver them with a vibrancy and honesty rarely seen in today’s rock n’ roll.

Mr.Gnome - Heave Yer Skeleton (Chordvine)

Duos have been a mainstay of rock music ever since one can remember. The Black Keys, No Age, The Ting Tings and of course the White Stripes have thankfully rid the music world of the stale notion that rock is a numbers game, proving that a pair is just as capable of making the same amount of noise as a standard quartet. Nowhere is this fact truer than in the case of Cleveland duo Mr. Gnome, who in their second full length album ‘Heave Yer Skeleton’ pull out all the stops, running the gamut of every emotion known to man and thus providing the listener a sonic experience rich in fantasy.

The closest reference points usually considered while describing a band like Mr. Gnome are female led Blonde Redhead and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but a more accurate comparison would be perhaps 90’s post hardcore legends Shudder to Think with their incredible similarity in the grasp of melody and rhythmic assault.

Using the same set of instrumentation as most duos, Nicole Barille (guitar/vocals) and Sam Meister (Drums) throughout this 12 song LP refuse to follow any convention instead opting for genre defying antics. Paradox is significantly woven throughout the album - delicate one second and explosive the next, alternating between cute and aggressive, the album travels wherever their imagination or technical prowess allows. A single listen to the striking ‘Today Brings a Bomb’ or ‘Pixie Dust’ establishes a somewhat undoubted fact; you’d be hard pressed to find a tighter band.

While the harmonious guitar lines of opener ‘Spain’ and ‘Titor’ are no indications of the belligerent sound that crowds the majority of this album, they offer up a sort of calm before the storm for the pummeling revved up guitar on songs ‘Plastic Shadow’ and ‘Cleveland Polka’.

Outstanding tracks such as the brilliant ‘Slow Side’ and ‘Sit Up and Hum’ contrast Barille’s feminine sweetness with Meister’s virtuosity switching between powerhouse drumming and deftly played rim shots with ease, establishing him as one of the most underrated drummers in the scene today. Even with just two people at the helm, they somehow manage to create sounds of orchestral proportions; Barille’s attractive vocals coupled with a bulk of driving moody guitar parts drawing the listener in even deeper.

‘Searider Falcon’ an instrumental which also proves to be the heaviest track on the album, appears to be designed for the sole purpose of putting subpar rock bands out there to shame. Truly through tracks like the playful yet somewhat dark ‘Vampires’ bordering on pop and the all too short ‘Hills, Valleys and Vallium’, which notably wouldn’t seem out of place on a dream pop compilation, they have issued a challenge to their peers, to expand their musical lexicon and range of expression, and throw off some of that stifling rock and roll orthodoxy.

The album comes to a close with the funeral procession opening of the title track, Meister complementing Barille’s whispery thin vocals with a moving piano riff, a somber end to an incredible record where everything down to the art is stunningly unique and perfectly appropriate, furthermore with absolutely no filler these are tracks are bound to stick in your head for days. Ultimately it is an album that comes along every so often to reaffirm your faith in rock ‘n roll. An album that doesn’t sound the least bit contrived, it's exactly as it should be, one of indie rock’s best kept secrets.

Anus the Menace - Revenge of the Shit (RSJ May 2010)

Impetuous, snotty and full of confidence, this album finds Chandigarh band, the delightfully named Anus the Menace at their most potent. ‘Revenge of the Shit’, a six song EP of juvenile punk rock is one not commonly seen in the metal dominated Indian rock scene and probably for good reason. Breezing through in roughly 15 minutes, this record doesn’t offer much in terms of musicality or scope but is enjoyable in its own chaotic sort of way.

For a punk rock band, this album starts oddly on a funky note with ‘Disco Fever’, a foot tapping number with the ability to stick in your head as a result of its markedly comical lyrics, while at the same time tending to be upbeat and melodic.

Before you know it, the album leads into its second track called ‘Government Sucks My Balls’ (I swear I’m not making any of these names up) predictably featuring repetitive diatribes against the government. Though limited in approach and lyrical content, it does bring to mind the independent hardcore punk movement of the 80’s. In some respects, the song could be a lost Minor Threat song with its heavy riffing and anti-authority rants, even given the failed over the top introduction. A bouncy bass line starts off ‘Right Now’, soon turning into an outlet for the band to dispense their advice on living life with a suitable groove complete with back up gang vocals.

The point where the album falters quite clearly though, is the apathetic direction of every song. The harder edged songs never sound as raw or urgent as they should while the poppier songs ultimately sink in half baked hooks. But in all fairness the band does make up for its lack of musical proficiency with buckets of fun, playful energy packing in old Bollywood movie recordings and attempted feminine voices on the part of the vocalist. In parts sounding like drunk frat boys with instruments, which notably isn’t all that far from their purpose, they manage to inject their sound with a youthful exuberance sorely lacking in rock music. Nowhere is this truer than the fall down hilarity of Chinese song, a song completely sung in an amusing imitation of the Chinese stereotype.

‘Placebo’ is as unremarkable as they come in any context or genre and only contributes as commonplace filler for increasing the album length. The last song ‘I’m So Punk….Not!’ features the first riff off the album into which you can actually sink your teeth and is probably closest to the sound the band tries to achieve throughout the album which is the three chord racket of bands like the Descendants or the Adolescents, ending the song with a chugging rhythm and what unusually sounds like a well played harmonica.

Complimented by crisp production and some excellent drumming on the part of Nidhaan Puri, this largely ignored album does provide Indian punks with something to turn to. With a little more focus this band could have been well on its way to actual success, however with vocalist Vilphin Vincent on his way to greener pastures, more specifically Mumbai, the band’s future has been put in serious doubt, possibly limiting this to their eponymous as well as sole musical output.

Blakc - Choking on a Dream (RSJ May 2010)

The 90’s alternative rock revolution is considered by many as exactly that, a ‘revolution’, and rightly so. The likes of Nirvana, Pearl Jam and their Seattle cohorts were responsible for regaining meaning and passion to the music like so few before and bringing forth a desperately needed variation in modern rock music; in the process managing to reach out and influencing alienated youth across the world. Consequently it was just a matter of time before the waves of this flannel clad style reached the shores of India, resulting in an abundance of mediocre hard rock bands worshiping at the altar of Cobain and co. all over the country. However among the clutter there has always been one band whose star has shined a lot brighter than some of their comrades.

Mumbai based ‘Blakc’ comprising of Shawn Pereira on Vocals, Shishir Tao on Drums, Reinhardt Dias on Lead Guitar, Roop Thomas on Bass, and Anish Menon on Rhythm Guitar have always had a knack for combining nostalgic guitar driven hard rock with contemporary ideas. What distinguishes them from the pack is their ability to divert from the one dimensional style of post grunge into more experimental territory. Their debut album ‘Choking on a Dream’ finds the band at their absolute finest embracing originality within the post grunge idiom, a perfect marriage between 90’s rock and more harmonious offerings.

Right off the bat the album kicks in with the high octane riff of ‘Rift’ featuring Shawn’s vocals that packs a powerful punch clearly influenced by vocalists of alternative past. Leading into the most accessible track, a melodic sing along tune with heart on sleeve lyrics, ‘Alone’ is characterized by a strikingly beautiful guitar line and memorable solos.
Roop’s exceptional bass playing skills are clearly highlighted throughout the album, combined with Shishir Tao’s sturdy drumming offering up one of the strongest rhythm sections in the scene today. ‘Newspaper Boy’ for instance leads in with a fantastic slap bass that resonates throughout the song.

Low key numbers like ‘Devil’s Sympathy’ and ‘Sold (Loose change)’ offer a well needed slow down to the album’s pace and as close as the band gets to a genuine ballad.

The album runs the gamut through a collection of 10 tracks each plastered with soaring catchy choruses but still retaining an undeniable cohesive quality. It’s on ‘Ambush’ and ‘Somewhere in the Night’ that this cohesive playing is at its most potent, two decidedly up tempo numbers with tightly wound structures. ‘Sold’ seamlessly combines celebratory sonics and miserablist lyrics into something singular before concluding the record with a light instrumental. Notably missing from the album is live favorite ‘Dreamcast’ which might have worked well within the concept of similarly arranged songs.

Although this album could very well catapult Blakc into the mainstream, and deservedly so, it is evident this is by no means intentional. ‘Choking on a Dream’ is neither a genuine 'safe' option for the band nor a blatant fan-base builder which obscures the band’s own charms. The band rises head and shoulders above fellow bands with an album that eagerly compels with bold ideas, however what remains to be seen is whether they are able to overcome the foreboding sophomore curse or end up like so many bands before them, being pigeonholed into a particular sound.

Yonass Feat.Mandie Davis - anY Mad noises (Chordvine)

Based in the Charente Maritime region of France, the collaboration between French composer Yonass Bignon and English vocalist Mandie Davis, assisted by two additional musicians in a live setting, has given birth to an album featuring an assortment of songs varying from trip hop to adult contemporary, occasionally bordering on lounge.

On receiving this lo-fi record in the mail, I was initially struck by the bands apparent willingness to tackle taboo subjects like alcoholism, anorexia and bondage in their music, something not commonly prevalent on a debut album especially in the pop realm.

The album starts off with notable irony as the opening words of the album mention ‘ghosts’, akin to Mandie’s distinguishable ghost like wispy vocals throughout the album. Kicking off with a song clearly based on the experiences of anorexia, ‘Under my Skin’ provides with its simple keyboard refrain and processed beats a simple but delicately moving melody. By the second song of the album ‘A Seed’ it becomes clear that the albums stock in trade is intimacy often creating the sense that the music exists for the listener's ears and for listener's ears only. Such intimacy makes their music incredibly romantic, in addition to being incredibly gorgeous.

With a sound and line up similar to Bristol’s most acclaimed, comparisons to Portishead is inevitable but what differentiates them from the trip hop’s elite is the adoration of texture and sonic depth seen in standout tracks like ‘Accroché’ , with its compelling angelic vocals backed by processed beats complete with percussive breaks ‘and ‘Zephyr’ featuring syncopated rhythms indicating that for all the trip hop and lounge influences this album borrows from, this is for the most part a percussionist’s album utilizing impressive and eclectic instrumentation.

While the first four songs are more indicative of the mood of the album as a whole displaying a varied range of colors from a seemingly limited palette, the latter part of the album takes a downturn crossing the perimeter into a soporific, sleepwalking kind of haze. Some songs like ‘Colour of Pain’ and ‘Blink’ clearly miss the mark exposing the shortcomings of the album as the relative lack of versatility and tightness of structure letting the songs to meander on past their health.

Although the track ‘Sweet November’ offers an interesting take on pop music, a nice digression from the melancholy of the remaining songs, it does nothing to resolve the monotony of the setting album which in support of such tough subject matter calls for harder edged rhythms and more pronounced hooks.

Clearly stated this album is not one that will appeal to a wide audience but for the open minded few, it offers what it promises, a stripped down, nuanced, late night mood one conducive to long drives. Ultimately the duo does exhibit a lot of promise laying down a solid foundation which hopefully can be built upon in future albums.

Muse - The Resistance (Chordvine)

Armed with possibly the world’s second most famous falsetto after Thom Yorke, vocalist Matthew Bellamy along with Christopher Wolstenholme on bass and Dominic Howard on drums, better known as the trio that form the highly acclaimed English alternative band Muse, offer up a politically charged atmosphere rich in paranoia and conspiracy theories in their fifth studio album ‘The Resistance’.

Better known for their complex style and introducing new concepts to their sound in every record, Muse start off the album with the relatively simple ‘Uprising’, a song that in its anthemic nature is really a call to arms against corrupt corporations. By means of a repetitive melody and a low and rhythmic deep end, the untypical sound is very heavy and dense, as a result of mounted synthesizers.

Following is the title track with its haunting introduction and catchy chorus with lyrics inspired by Orwell's ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’. The song ‘United States of Eurasia’ shows the band wearing their influences, namely the legendary Queen proudly on their sleeves as they call to mind the classic ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ by featuring a blend of Arabian styled orchestral interludes, a ‘We Are the Champions’ style guitar under melody leading into the chorus, and finally chanting at the end of the track with heavily overdubbed ‘Freddie Mercury’ like double tracking’s.

The momentum gained by the album in the earlier tracks however, does not carry onto songs like ‘Guiding Light’ with its 80’s inspired arena sing along power ballad feel and the lack in pace of the French sung and soon to be featured in the new twilight movie, ‘I Belong To You’. The organ intro to ‘Unnatural Selection’ and the fuzzed out synth of MK Ultra clearly uncover the art rock pretentions of the band.

Nevertheless, Muse never cease to surprise with their innovation, this time presenting a three part compilation of classical symphonies with rock flourishes in the ‘Exogenesis’ series which unquestionably lives up to the grand promise of their titles. Sweeping keyboards, grand pianos, synthesizers and electric guitars turn this 14 minute album closer into an all out rock orchestra.

Musically a step in an experimental direction, the album may seem indulgent and lacking in consistency over a few listens; however for true Muse fans it all but proves their versatility and deserves no less praise than their previous albums.

Tough on Tobacco - The Happy Goat (Split)

After nearly a decade of handling percussion for one of India’s most acclaimed and beloved bands Zero, Sidd Coutto at the height of their popularity watched his band slowly dissolve. This provided an ample opportunity for the drummer to showcase his skills as a singer/songwriter in the relatively short lived but almost universally praised quintessential Indian rock super group Helga’s Fun Castle.

With such an impressive resume one would rightly assume Sidd Coutto’s next musical venture labeled ‘Tough on Tobacco’ to draw from the pop and funk tendencies of his previous bands which this album does occasionally flirt with, but mostly, he takes the record in a completely unexpected direction-- and when he does, he leaves the listener far behind. Sidd Coutto entered the studio with a set of credible musician’s to record this album, including the likes of Niranjan Dhar and Gaurav Gupta on guitars, Johan Pais on bass, Jai Row Kavi on drums and multi instrumentalist Neil Gomes playing violin, sax and flute. On paper this line up would probably seem the most striking band in the scene today, unfortunately in reality it resembles a group of friends jamming without any scope of a productive result, allowing the compilation of half baked ideas into an entire album.

‘The Happy Goat’ fails exactly where Zero’s second album ‘Hook’ succeeded brilliantly, nailing melody driven pop rock melodies into hook filled choruses. This album it turns out is neither an instant favorite nor a slow grower but rather a collection of unimaginative ideas that can be best described as drab, drawing on without any real focus or purpose. The ten odd songs notably found for free download see the band unable to find its footing in any sense, proving that lack of commitment to a specific genre doesn’t always translate into a good thing.

A few listens to the opening songs is all it takes to establish a sort of catch-22 that Tough on Tobacco can write songs poppy and childish enough to be memorable however for completely the wrong reasons. ‘The Happy goat’ opens with the subdued ‘Voices in My Head’, a song completely in a cappella. The second song ‘Already told you’ may still be forgiven with its twisting hooks and strong rhythm section which evoke his previous works. However the album then leads into ‘Concert Piano’ through which the vocalist offers up a brief glimpse of a series of styles and moods, but makes no real effort to help us understand them or to see them through his eyes. ‘Consuella’ may have the snappiest hook on the album but every other part of the song plays out like a half-assed version of a techno song.

Eclectic to say the least, the album draws from a variety of genres, the most noticeable of which being reggae, evident on tracks like ‘Forest of Doom’ and the song supposedly taking over the country ‘Happy’. The reggae tinged pop rock style and sing along melodies however give the impression of Bob Marley rejects and do not compensate for the overall lack in depth. ‘Taxi Song’ comes closest to imitating the rhythmic tendencies of Dave Matthews Band, a jam band Tough on Tobacco borrows heavily from, however unlike the multi instrumental genre bending rock of DMB ,this lacks that sense of purpose and melodic structure required to send it through the rafters.

While some songs still feature Coutto behind his drum kit banging out those influential rhythms that he is so well known for, that is probably the only saving grace for this train wreck of an album, as even in those fleeting moments when there is actually something to sink your teeth into, the band seems to be more involved in satisfying the necessities of a specific genre leaving the songs soulless as a result.

Fake praise by the likes of critics and musicians may surround this album already, however it'd be fibbing to say that the bands personnel is not the precise reason to laud this passable attempt at music. Ultimately it falters under the weight of its own influences, begging the average rock fan to ask the age old question, whether to judge an album based on the artists previous more innovative and acclaimed output or based solely on the albums merits.

Yoav - Charmed & Strange (Chordvine)

With a back story that would make any music journalist dizzy with glee, Yoav Sadan who simply goes by Yoav is an Israeli born musician of South African descent that has been a rising star on the charts and a club favorite since his inception into mainstream America after slipping his music demo into the purse of a powerful record executive. His debut album ‘Charmed & Strange’ manages to develop a unique sound presenting a broad spectrum of styles, from pop to light via soft rock and electronic rock.

A unique name to match a truly esoteric sound, Yoav manages to create a set of songs based just on his vocals and an acoustic guitar, however unlike typical singer/songwriters he doesn’t strum or play his guitar, rather he teases, taps, beats, feeds and loops effects to create a sound more closely linked to hip hop. Compared to artists like Beck, Jeff Buckley, Radiohead and Damien Rice, the folk element in his songs gives way to a sound derived from the dance floor.

Throughout the album’s 11 songs, he reinvents the use of an acoustic guitar altogether, processing and reprocessing sounds to create almost unrecognizable electronic beats, played on a loop using a pedal.

The most popular song off the album ‘Club Thing’ is a club hit featuring these electronic beats layered with Yoav’s soulful voice, a track that could have been performed by Justin Timberlake. Another track ‘There is Nobody’ highly resembles Bronski Beat's 1980s hit “Smalltown Boy," while the guitar solo on the second single off the album ‘Beautiful Lie’ is notably inspired by U2 guitarist Dave Evans' performance on the group's album "The Joshua Tree."

Sadan's album closes with his moving cover of The Pixies' "Where is My Mind”. Chosen for nostalgic reasons, he stays true to the albums experimental motif while at the same time delivering an emotional and heart wrenching performance of this critically acclaimed song.

BRMC - Howl Review (RSJ June 2009)

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix.
---Allen Ginsberg ‘Howl’


The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, mainstays of the San Francisco rock scene took the name for their 3rd album released in 2005, from this defining poem of the beat generation written by fellow San Franciscan Allen Ginsberg. Like the beat generations characteristic pattern of poetry, BRMC have also had a distinguishable sound with wide ranging influences from the neo psychedelic Brian Jonestown Massacre to the guitar fuzz of Jesus and Mary chain. However in this album it all takes a backseat to the Americana, folk and country influences as the trio trades in their distortion pedals for acoustic slide guitars. BRMC’s songs have always had a bluesy undertone to them but in this album they delve deeper into the delta blues and gospel sound by employing organs, harmonicas and tambourines making the album sound grander than it really is. While the remaining so called ‘garage rock revivalists’ still play brash, aggressive rock with fuzz driven feedback and amateurish song structures, BRMC have taken a different path, one not frequently visited by modern day rock bands. A stripped down sound with arrangements that favor the lighter, more acoustic side of their music, this album would not seem out of place in the 60’s. While a departure for the band who are famous for albums filled with drug induced feedback and rock n’ roll anthems, its still an earnest and compelling record chalk full of gospel Americana and muscular country blues along with lyrics about Jesus and the government that would make Dylan proud.
Songs like ‘Promise’ and ‘Complicated Situation’ written in the vein of 60’s Dylan folk and ‘Devil’s Waitin’ a southern ballad tribute to the styling of Johnny Cash shows the band embracing its roots, while the most popular song off the album ‘Shuffle Your Feet’ begins with an acapella gospel choir and leads into a honky tonk stomp. The title track with its heavy church organ acts as a divine melancholy mood piece for the album. ‘Ain’t No Easy Way’ is another raucous rocker full of acoustic guitars, harmonica solos and foot stomping country rock rhythm while ‘Weight of the World’ with its Oasis like harmonies is a low key gem in the bands repertoire. Fans of the bands first two albums might not appreciate the bands dive in this new musical spectrum but in time this album will be appreciated as a sincere effort by the band to reinvent their sound.