You would think that there are certain rules you have to follow if you’re going to name your band “Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.” These four words, much like “Wolf Trident Eclipse” in yesterday’s album, seem to evoke something very particular—here I imagine thick beards, loud engines, and an endless highway. What happens instead is comparatively… tame. This music comes as more of a moan than a growl, plagued throughout by the passivity of understatement. It’s not bad music, it’s actually well-played alternative rock. But because motorcycle culture is rife with stereotypes of AC/DC and Judas Priest, this band’s music inevitably pales by comparison for its soft corners.
Maybe this is the music that motorcyclists dream to… Full of decadent reverb, luscious hooks, and just enough attitude to get through the night. I’ll never know, though–I don’t ride a motorcycle.
Mike Frasier Music 