Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Howl (RCA)
by Marc Hirsh

originally published in Amplifier, September-October 2005

Throwing a major curveball on their third album, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club ditch their electric Velvetisms in favor of invoking Beggars Banquet’s acoustic base. That move would have made them incorrigible sellouts in 1968; in 2005, it’s practically groundbreaking. Howl mines country blues (the front-porch “Shuffle Your Feet,” the stomping slide-and-harmonica “Ain’t No Easy Way”) and folk music (“Complicated Situation” recalls pre-electric Dylan, while “Devil’s Waiting” sounds like it barely missed the cut for one of Harry Smith’s Anthologys), but BRMC aren’t making any sort of argument about those genres’ authenticity, they’re just interested in the simplicity the provide. The more rock-based numbers also benefit, with “Promise” whittling Elton John down to the bare essentials and “Gospel Song” making like “Everybody Hurts” rearranged for a David Lynch film, with a “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” chaser. Changing their approach so drastically could have made BRMC sound like dabblers, but Howl finds them strong, committed and focused.

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