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This post finds me on the road again, this time headed to Omaha, Nebraska for the Azaleos/Microsoft Cloud Computing Summit.  I’m speaking in front of a large group tomorrow morning, so finding some “pump up” music for this trip was a must.  I listened to 3-4 new albums on the plane ride and Beat The Devil’s Tattoo by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club emerged as the clear choice.

DNA:  Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Velvet Underground, Rolling Stones, Brian Jonestown Massacre

The Band:
Los Angeles-based Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (BRMC) was integral to the back-to-basics garage-rock revival of the early 2000s, although they sounded nothing like The Hives, The Strokes or The White Stripes.  BRMC’s debut single, “Whatever Happened to My Rock and Roll?” introduced a thundering mix of heavy psychedelia, twisted stoner rock and rustic folk blues molded into a powerful wall of sound.  BRMC gets this thick sound unconventionally, sometimes playing entire songs on tuning pegs, detuning and retuning to get the perfect growl and shimmer.  The trio has since influenced younger bands like A Place to Bury Strangers and Alberta Cross.

The Music:
BRMC’s sixth album, Beat The Devil’s Tattoo, is partially inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, The Devil In The Belfry.  In that tale, a methodical, boring and quiet little borough is devastated by the arrival of a devilish figure playing a big fiddle.  This figure comes straight down from a hill, goes into the belltower, brutally attacks the belfry-man and rings thirteen o’clock, to the horror of the town’s inhabitants. 

The album’s title track opens with a sinister acoustic guitar track perfect for the storied antagonist’s descent into the unsuspecting borough.  “Beat The Devil’s Tattoo” is as grimy as a backwoods voodoo ceremony but rocks hard enough to pump up a sports team at halftime.  “Bad Blood” reflects the influence of 90s indie-rockers like Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine with a chorus that will stay in your head for days.  “Conscience Killer” opens with a chant taken from Elvis Presley’s “King Creole” and launches into what BRMC are known for – wide open guitar rock.       

BRMC takes their name from the Marlon Brando-led biker gang that stormed into a dusty California hamlet in The Wild One.  The Beatles took their name from Brando’s rival gang in the same film.  In The Wild One, a girl asks Brando’s character, “What are you rebelling against, Johnny?”  He answers with “What do you got?”  BMRC brings the same hell-bent passion to Beat The Devil’s Tattoo, combining all of the styles that the band has experimented with- indie rock, rootsy blues, shoegazer fuzz- in their most cohesive effort yet. 

Some of my college friends will probably listen to this and ask why I didn’t just recommend the Jesus and Mary Chain’s Honey’s Dead from 1992.  True, BRMC bears a striking resemblance to JAMC, from their guitar and vocal styling to the four-letter acronyms used to shorten their names.  Even their live shows are similar- both bands drench audiences in flashing lights and feedback. 

But hey, it could be worst.  Honey’s Dead was sonically masterful and no one’s comparing BRMC to Nickelback or anything.  Beat The Devil’s Tattoo is a great listen top to bottom for anyone that needs to get the blood flowing in their rock-and-roll collection.

“Beat The Devil’s Tattoo” by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

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“Conscience Killer” by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

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“Bad Blood” by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

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