Black Rebel Motorcycle Club B.R.M.C. CD

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Peter Hayes (vocals, guitar, harmonica, keyboards, bass); Robert Turner (vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass); Nick Jago (drums, percussion).
Engineers include: Peter Hayes, Robert Turner, David Shiffman.
Personnel: Peter Hayes (vocals, guitar, harmonica, keyboards); Robert Turner (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Nick Jago (drums, percussion).
Audio Mixers: Peter Hayes; Robert Turner; Masaki; Michael Patterson .
Recording information: Brilliant Studios; BRMC Studios; One-Way Studios; Sound City.
The brooding Los Angeles-based Black Rebel Motorcycle Club belies its roots in sunny California with a dark, edgy sound that is indebted to 1980s/early-'90s British shoegazer bands, particularly the architects of the sound, Jesus & Mary Chain. While many bands take at least a few albums to work up to their full sonic range, the BRMC presents a dense, wide-screen set of songs on its assured 2001 debut. (In fact, the group would spend subsequent releases scaling back the formidable aesthetic on offer here.)
"Love Burns" opens the record and establishes the BRMC template with slowly building intensity, as jangly guitar lines shift into thick layers of distortion and the coolly detached vocals of Peter Hayes and Robert Turner (who alternate playing guitar and bass) evoke scenes of disillusionment and damaged love. While many of BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB's tunes are effective mid-tempo tracks (particularly "Awake," which unleashes majestic, Ride-like squalls of feedback), "Whatever Happened to My Rock 'N' Roll (Punk Song)" is a blistering, revved-up number that recalls the fervor of the Stooges. Regardless of influences, the BRMC warrants attention by the sheer force of its music, making this an album for those who like their rock bold, brash, and unapologetically loud.
This L.A.-based band (originally hailing from San Francisco) came along just when they were needed most. This self-produced major-label debut boldly plunders a reverb-and-white noise course previously trampled underfoot by long-gone British bands of the late '80s and early '90s (the Jesus & Mary Chain, the Verve, Ride, the Stone Roses, etc.). It all sounds very British, on many levels, despite the fact that only one band member is an Englishman living in exile in the States. On some songs, however, the driving, over-amped guitars (often buzzing with "VU needles-in-red"-type feedback) and pounding drums have a swaggering primeval feel that rivals solid Detroit rock outfits, both old and new (including the Stooges and the Go, to name two). A few have dark, introspective lyrics, with subjects like impending death ("Rifles" at their heart, while others have a positive, more uplifting feel (cf. "Salvation"), but it's really the group's cohesive, solid production overall that captures a shoegazing, blustery rock vibe not heard for nearly a decade or more. Highlights abound on this astonishing disc, including the bitter opening salvo, "Love Burns," the diaphanous space pop of "Too Real," and the flurry of sawtooth guitar scree that is "Whatever Happened to My Rock n' Roll (Punk Song)," a track recalling the manic intensity of the Stooges circa Fun House. ~ Bryan ThomasRolling Stone (4/26/01, p.67) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...A mix of woozy, sinister psychedelia. BRMC steer clear of becoming a total knockoff act by filling out their sound with blues-rock romps and spacey elements....in other words, a sonic Snickers bar..."
Q (12/02, p.65) - Included in Q Magazine's "The 50 Best Albums of 2002."
Q (1/02, p.103) - 4 out of 5 stars - "...Young men from San Fransisco in thrall to mid '80s British FX pedal rock....granite thwacks of drums...sustains for an hour of fuzz bass eruptions [and] wild tremolo panning..."
Alternative Press (6/01, p.68) - 4 out of 5 - "...The latest testament to the undeniable energy and power of rock....channelling the garage-rock ghost of the Stooges..."
Magnet (12-1/02, p.56) - Included in Magnet's "20 Best Albums of 2001".
Magnet (6-7/01, p.80) - "...There's definitely something happening here..."
CMJ (4/9/01, p.4) - "...A collection of charismatic songs that explore the classic themes of lost love, the demise of rock...and the second coming..."
Mojo (Publisher) (2/02, p.92) - "...Boasting vogue MC5 and Stooges influences and possessed of Strokesesque cool...Believe the hype."
NME (Magazine) (1/19/02, p.27) - 8 out of 10 - "...BRMC are the rightful heirs of the Enigmatic And Vaguely Dangerous Looking Men In Black crown...all of their incredible songs shimmer and vibrate with the riotous majesty of PSYCHOCANDY..."
Record Collector (magazine) (p.82) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Their eponymous 2001 debut was an intensely melancholic journey through psychedelic indie rock..."