Baby 81

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - what a name, what a band. They've got everything (everything in a superlative sense, not in a bourgeoisie sense), psychedelia, indie riffs, on-the-verge-of-metal guitars, ballads, political rockers, Jesus and Mary Chainish noise pop, folk and even a dash of gospel here and there.

First having heard about them through Noel Gallagher (he mentioned them in an inverview), I pointed my internet browser astern, hoisted a Jolly Roger, cruised into the sunset and haven't looked back yet. Named after the biker gang from the great Marlon Brando's 1953 cult classic The Wild One, they've been JamesDean-ing it up in the MTV-infested US music industry.

Baby 81 was birthed (excuse the pun) with the return of original founding drummer Nick Jago, whose heavy staccato, cymbal crashing drumming style I dearly missed, and fit very well with the album's vibe. My favourite bit of his drumming is at 3:36 of Lien On Your Dreams, when the guitar's surging to a climax, and the song halts for a second of pure rock-mindfuck, and his drumming just escalates that moment of "FUCK YES" to a heaven-piercing high.

Right so here we go!

1.) Took Out a Loan - Quite a generic sounding song, the intro's good though, and the drumming sounds like Nick wants to let people know he's back and rocking up for lost time.

2.)Berlin - What a rocker. This tune drips with attitude and class. The singing is really clever as well - "I'm gonna *uh* somebody, I'm gonna *uh* somebody", the song's got great flow and the ending is brilliant "What happened to the Revolution?". My favourite bit is when the guitar does a creepy little lick at the break, when it's only the drums carrying on.

3.) Weapon of Choice - What a f*cking tune! This is like the "Ain't no Easy Way' of Baby 81 I reckon. Folkish acoustic guitar mixed with great tempo and a heavy contrasting distortion-filled crunchy guitar riff. Peter's vocals here are good too. My favourite bit is again the break, when the guitar goes into what can only be described as a semi ripoff of Apollo 440's "Can't Stop The Rock" main lick. Obviously Peter sings about his lack of fondness for the current governmental regime. "I won't waste my love on a nation."

4.) Windows - A seepy, creepy, neurotic and paranoia-fuelled wall of sound. The intro is cracking, and the melody is hauntingly delicious. It reminds me of a dark, noir, Nightmare before Christmas-esque sort of picture. The song structure seems to me like the protagonists' journey to complete neuroticity. The piano in the beginning is very structured and 'formal' and stays constant, but the guitar work and vocals seem to get a little more 'desperate sounding' as the song goes on. Or maybe the band's just describing the nightmare of using Windows on a computer hehe..

5.) Cold Wind - One of the weaker tracks on the album, sounds more like an extension of Windows rather than a standalone track, there's an undertone of their punkish rage contained in it as well. Or maybe it's the band describing the feeling they have in their soul when they use Windows again after being on a Mac..

6.) Not What You Wanted - Suddenly the album hits back to a major-based, happy sounding track. This song's really good as well, throwing back to their folky-psychedelia. My favourite bit of the song is that weird sound the guitar makes in the background, like it's being stretched and warped, that's the only way I can describe it. Oh and when he goes "You always drink.... you always drink too much." I really like the ending as well.

7.) 666 Conducer - Wow. This song is f*cking blinding. It's essentially BRMC's "When the Levee Breaks". Crazy heavy drum beats and a driving acoustic riff, married with the electric guitar giving a cheeky 'kiss' now and again. This song reminds me of someone, mega pissed off, with jaws and fists clenched in fury, getting ready to beat the SHIT out of some knobhead. But that's just me. The favourite bit of the song is when the song breaks and Peter goes "I'm a 666 conducer.. you can't do the things I do sir.."

8.) All You Do Is Talk - This song sounds more like a Killers cover than anything else, and it's brilliant in every single way possible. The heavenly, gospel-induced intro builds in layers, holding Peter's vocals high on some pedestal when he finally comes in. The lyrics are absolutely awe-inspiring and beautiful. "You lucky words don't bleed.." I think this song would be great as a breakup song, or on Michael Moore's latest anti-political documentary :) "Help yourself don't say a thing, the love you show don't mean a thing at all, if all you do is talk.."

9.) Lien On Your Dreams - AFAIK, a lien is essentially a mortgage. This song has some of the most tasty lyrical peanut butter in a song sandwich that I've ever tasted in a long time. "And it hurts, and what's worse, and there's no way to reverse." "Without passion, you're a fashion." The song builds up to a tasty crescendo, which I talked about earlier in the post. It's one of the rare songs that when I listen to sometimes, can make the hairs on my arm and back of my neck stand up in unison, like some Chinese communist army regiment saluting to Chairman Mao(I don't condone communism or China, only in tiny amounts) I love when he starts going "Oooohh hoo hooooh" near the end of the song.

10.) Need Some Air - Yeahhh, this is BRMC boiled down to its core. Fast tempos, crazy drumming, edgy guitar work, incredible vocal flow, and one killer chorus. Keeps me on the edge of me seat man.

11.) Killing The Light - Now this song is weird, but in a good way, like when you're making out with a girl and she starts sucking on your finger. I didn't like this song at first, but after one or two listens, I've realised that it is utter brilliance. It's got more haunting melody and some very weird 'balloony' guitar work, the chorus wakes you up like a line of coke, slap in the face and a kick in the balls. By the time I've gotten round to this track, I've become incredibly jealous of Peter's vocals.

12.) American X - Epic. Like.. blow-my-fucking-head-off epic.

13.) Am I Only - The other weaker track of the album (IMHO). Emotional, powerful, gut-wrenching. The psychedelia saves it though, only just. :)

14.) The Likes of You (UK only bonus track) - Don't you hate how bands place a geographical bias when it comes to bonus tracks? And they blame -us- for piracy.. Anyway, this song is really cool, goes off on a different tangent. Super garage psychedelia, the drums are even almost hip-hop ish.

Well there it is, Baby 81 reviewed. Maybe I'll do another of their older albums when I find the time to wrap my ears around them again. In the meantime.. I'm going to try and look for The Effects of 333 (released 3.33 AM just a couple days ago :D).

Peace, Music, Love

Regards,
Prayon Kid.