Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – B.R.M.C. (2001)

My attitude towards this album has changed quite a few times over the time I've owned it. I first heard my friend play it and it sounded excellent, so I also bought it. Actually, before buying it I copied on a mini disc. Fairly soon after I had purchased this album, however, I felt like I didn't really enjoy the songs that much and the songs sounded too un-melodic. Then almost 15 years later I happened to listen to them again and I felt like I was blown away how good they sounded. Clearly my taste in music had changed, but also this kind of dark neo-psychedelia had come back in fashion. In early 00's, this band was quite unique in its genre. No-one else seemed to make this kind of music. Now there are lots of cool bands that use these kinds of Krautrock-influenced psychedelic sounds and I have been very excited about those bands in the recent years.



This is Black Rebel Motorcycle's debut album and what an album it is. The dark and hypnotic sounds fill the whole album and the more you listen to the songs, the more you like them. Unfortunately, this band's second album was a huge disappointment and they never got back to this level on any of their later albums. So, I'd say that B.R.M.C. is a one album wonder, but at least that one album is amazing. I would've had a chance to see this band in early 2000's, but I didn't go, because by then I had lost interest towards the band. Now I kind of regret it, because I'm sure this would sound amazing live and I never have an opportunity to see the band in its prime now.

The psychedelic and noisy guitars draw the listener's attention first. There's some amazing guitar playing on this album. But later on, I have been focussing even more on the amazing bass lines. All in all, this band sounds great as a band. The rhythm section knows how to loop melodies to create an effective hypnosis.

The album starts with slowly rising Love Burns that reminds me of some 90's alternative rock bands. There's a bit of early Britpop magic in the sounds as well. Red Eyes and Tears is the first proper neo-psychedelia song. It reminds me of the great Black Angels who have used similar psychedelic guitar sounds. Whatever Happened to My Rock n' Roll is a pure garage rock song with its quicker tempo and aggressive vocals. Awake sounds like a long lost Stone Roses song. The hippy bass lines and guitars are just amazing. As Sure as the Sun is proper dark melancholia that gets deep under your skin with its menacing mood. The bass line in the beginning is incredible. Take My Time/Rifles predicts the later echo rock movement of the 2010's. Too Real sounds like a modernised hybrid of The Beatles psychedelic era song and a Wish You Were Here era Pink Floyd song. Spread Your Love is amazingly punchy rock song with amazing riffs. It even has a great black and white music video that seems to embody early 00's garage rock genre. Head Up High dives into dark 80's alternative rock in the style of Jesus & Mary Chain and Echo & the Bunnymen.

It's such a great feeling to find one of your old albums that you thought you didn't enjoy that much anymore and find out that it has plenty more to give you after so many years. This album has given me another round of pleasure and this time I can appreciate it more than I ever could before.

Listen to the album on Spotify.