Take Them On, On Your Own [PA]

Performer: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Engineer: Ric Simpson
Producer: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Peter Hayes, Robert Turner (vocals, guitar, bass); Nick Jago (drums, percussion). On their second album, the perpetually dark-clad Black Rebel Motorcycle Club offers another set of feedback-drenched songs. Though the band still wears its Jesus & Mary Chain influence on its leather sleeves, TAKE THEM ON, ON YOUR OWN reveals a refined sound that hints at other musical forebears. The opening track, "Stop," rocks like a latter-day Oasis tune, while "We're All in Love" is carried along by a slinky Stones-like riff. Although wide-screen, Ride-inspired epics are no longer the order of the day for the brooding lads of BRMC, their renewed focus is evident on TAKE's furiously concise anthems. Just to mix things up a bit, the Rebels add a vaguely political tone to a number of tracks and even bust out the acoustic guitars on "And I'm Aching." In a pleasant surprise, the trio saves some of its finest songs, such as "Suddenly" and "Rise or Fall," for the end, rounding out their solid sophomore outing.

Rolling Stone (9/18/03, p.71) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...The L.A. trio sticks with Jesus and Mary Chain-style swirly, fuzz-drenched rock on TAKE THEM ON, ON YOUR OWN but puts its imprint onto the sound..." Entertainment Weekly (9/5/03, pp.74-5) - "...The dynamics...whip you around like a Tilt-A-Whirl before launching into a zero-gravity coda..." - Rating: B Uncut (9/03, p.110) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...It noisily takes you back to the days when rock'n'roll was the place where all the weirdos and outsiders hung out..." CMJ (9/1/03, p.8) - "...The perpetually black-clad trio returns darker, cooler, and more convicted than ever before..." Mojo (Publisher) (9/03, pp.98-9) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...A nuggety fusion of classic rock and surrealistic pop....EARTHQUAKE GLUE exudes an unshakeable ring of confidence..." Record Collector (magazine) (p.82) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "In 2003 they returned with TAKE THEM ON, ON YOUR OWN, proffering a sleeker, more sanguine sound which was discernibly their own."

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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