Howl

Performer: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Engineer: Rick Parker
Producer: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Distributor: RED Distribution

Notes: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Peter Hayes, Robert Levon Been, Nick Jago. Personnel: Ryan Cobb (electric guitar); Michael Been (piano); Paul Cobb (drums). A significant departure for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, HOWL finds the Los Angeles-based trio abandoning the cold, amped-up sound of TAKE THEM ON, ON YOUR OWN in favor of a more heartfelt, acoustic-oriented aesthetic. (It's noteworthy that frontman Robert Turner has gone back to his birth name, Robert Levon Been, and his father, Michael Been, of the 1980s band the Call, contributes piano to one track.) The album's artwork nods to classic '60s record sleeves, and it's no coincidence; the music here is stripped-down and folk-inflected, revealing a major change from the group's earlier reverb-heavy, Jesus & Mary Chain-influenced vibe. Elements of rural blues, soul, and even gospel work their way into these tunes, but the BRMC stills rocks--just in a more inspired and inventive way. Those who had written the band off after TAKE THEM ON will likely embrace HOWL, which shows a promising act making bold steps to revitalize its career.

Spin (p.101) - "JC is a decent bandleader, sitting in with BRMC as they demolish their wailing wall of sound in favor of back-porch acoustic strumming and Mississippi-burning harmonica." - Grade: B Entertainment Weekly (No. 836, p.60) - "...[D]eeply hypnotic narco-blues that conjure both The Band's epic pastorals...and Nick Cave's Southern Goth...." - Grade: A- Uncut (p.105) - 4 stars out of 5 - "Sparse, literate - the title is a nod to local beat guru Allen Ginsberg - and full of killer tunes....It's unquestionably a cry from the heart." Magnet (p.53) - Ranked #7 in Magnet's "The 20 Best Albums Of 2005" - "The pair trades newly audible verses, preaching the blues, whiskey and religion." Mojo (Publisher) (p.94) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[T]heir third album sees them breaking free and heading into Americana's well-traveled wilds....and, in the album's hidden track, producing their most beautiful recording yet."

Though the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (whose name comes from Brando film THE WILD ONES) are American, their sound borrows heavily from British sources, and they became a sensation in the UK with their 2001 debut album. Though singer/multi-instrumentalist Robert Turner is the son of Michael Been, leader of '80s California band the Call, the roots of BRMC lie in the misty guitar textures of English shoegazer bands like Ride and Slowdive, and the '60s-flavored fuzz tones of the Jesus & Mary Chain. After the band's second album, 2003's TAKE THEM ON, ON YOUR OWN, the BRMC parted ways with their label Virgin.

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