Fourth album from the brit-pop influenced L.A. rockers.

BABY 81
Artist: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Label: Red Ink
Release date: May 1, 2007
List Price: $ 13.98

Here is a band that I had heard about for a while now. For some reason, I never took the opportunity to check them out. We’ve all done it before I’m sure, Sometimes you hear a big underground buzz about a band and you think to yourself that you have no desire to check them about in spite of all the hype. Well as they have just released Baby 81 I felt that this was as good a time as any to finally give these guys a listen.

Britain in the late 60’s & mid 70’s. That’s the first thought that went through my mind during my first listen to this release. BRMC certainly are part of the new British invasion despite the fact they hail from Los Angeles. Figure that one out. All sorts of influences can be heard here from The Beatles to The Doors and even a splash of Oasis with a hint of Jesus And Mary Chain. The production is an interesting mix of garage rock aesthetic mixed with progressive rock studio production. The effect is that you feel as if you’re in a dimension of their own creation. Baby 81 has the feel of a complete album. There are no disjointed parts to speak of and although it contains definitive hits (“Weapon Of Choice”, “Berlin”) the entire album flows extremely well from beginning to end. It retains a medium to semi high pace at times and comes over as a powerful concept album circa early 70’s.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club take their name from Marlon Brando’s motorcycle gang in the 1953 classic film “The Wild One”. If you’ve ever seen the film you can certainly appreciate the similarity of the aggressive yet casual cool that they share with their namesakes.

Mildred: “What are you rebelling against Johnny?”

Johnny: “Whaddaya got?”

Standout Track: “American X”