ARTIST: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
ALBUM: Beat the Devil’s Tattoo
LABEL: Abstract Dragon/Vagrant Records
RELEASE DATE: March 9, 2010
The Marlon Brandos of Rock
Photo by Tessa Angus
Written by Jenny Frank
Have you heard of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club? Sometime they just go by their initials….BRMC….have you heard of BRMC? They have been around since 1998; started out in San Francisco, but are now based in Los Angeles. They have a massive fan base in the U.K. In 2003 a show in Leeds, England was cancelled half way through for fear the floor in the auditorium was going to give out from audience’s dancing, bouncing, hopping, etc……
You have heard of them, then? Come on….don’t lie just because the name sounds really cool–like the name of a band every man should have heard of. A name almost reminiscent of something Brando would have uttered way back when people like James Dean and Marlon Brando were the type of men every man wanted to be like and every woman just plain wanted. (And rightly so because Black Rebel Motorcycle Club took their name from the motorcycle gang in the 1953 film, The Wild Bunch.) It does sound awfully cool doesn’t it? BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB….and their latest release on Vagrant Records, “Beat The Devil’s Tattoo” sounds just as tough.
“Beat the Devil’s Tattoo” is by far the most complete BRMC release to date. If you are familiar with their previous albums you know the band’s style is completely random, changing from garage rock (Nirvana) to alt-country (Wilco) to 1960-esque psychedelia (Led Zeppelin). The closest comparison I can make is to British band The Jesus & Mary Chain–but then if you have heard of The Jesus & Mary Chain, you’ve probably been listening to BRMC long before reading this review.
“Beat the Devil’s Tattoo” is a well-crafted and perfectly balanced album. Past BRMC albums seemed to weigh heavily on one style or another, which is understandable for a relatively young band still learning and finding their footing while dealing with numerous line-up shake ups mostly due to their drummer Nick Lago’s battles in and out of rehab.
Listening to “Beat the Devil’s Tattoo” is like a musical journey through the last 40 years of rock and roll. Songs like the title track, “Beat the Devil’s Tattoo, ” “Bad Blood,” and “Mama Taught Me Better” will appeal to listeners who are looking for guitar-based, good old fashioned rock and roll. While songs like “War Machine” are reminiscent of a more experimental rock and roll, where artists like Jimi Hendrix and Led Zepplin pushed the boundaries, creating something familiar yet entirely new within their music. A balance is created within the album with songs such as “The Toll” that show a much softer BRMC where the very adept vocals and songwriting skills of there lead man Robert Been (who used the pseudo-name Robert Turner on BRMC’s first releases to mask the fact he is the son of Michael Been, singer of The Call.)
Most impressive though are songs such “Aya” that show that “Beat the Devil’s Tattoo” is BRMC coming into their own. Where they often struggle to break free from the genres they seem to be experimenting with, “Aya” and the final track “Half State” are something entirely new, a melding of styles showcasing the strengths and influences that come out 100% Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.
If you haven’t heard Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, “Beat the Devil’s Tattoo” is an album you may want to add to your collection. If you don’t start listening to them now, you are just going to be behind musically because if “Beat the Devil’s Tattoo” is any indication as to what the future holds in store for this young band you will definitely NOT be able to ignore them in the future. RM