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Black Rebel Motorcycle Club 'Howl'
It would’ve been too easy for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club to disappear further into the blackest of black holes that had entrapped them. Having existed in the dope-smoked haze of cool disregard for everything around them, they soon stumbled, not realizing the difference between being moody and being in a mood.
Their reputation as rock’s stroppiest gits gathered momentum as they balked at having to sign inflatable penises in signing tents, went all zombie at awards ceremonies and split with their record label. With inter-band relations reaching arctic levels of frostiness, it became clear that if there was even going to be another Black Rebel album, it would probably dive into the dark dirges that had over-shadowed their underwhelming second album
But, no. ‘Howl’ is none of those things. It’s not the scowling, frowning BRMC we’ve come to know and, erm, begrudge. The emotions
aren’t hidden between My Bloody Valentine-esque walls of armour. They are there, right at the front for everyone to see. BRMC have decided that the only way to confront a world they feel so uncomfortable in is to look it directly in the eye. And the surprise is that, in doing that, they are much more engaging characters than you think. ‘Howl’ may not be a complete full-stop from their troubled past (drummer Nick Jago only plays on one track, ‘Promise’, having been kicked out for the bulk of recording), instead, it’s the sound of a band slowly shaking off its shackles.The record itself is reminder after reminder that, behind all the awkwardness, BRMC disposed of simple pop songs with remarkable acuteness. The waltzing stomp of ‘Ain’t No Easy Way’ will leave an indelible mark upon even the thickest of skulls, ‘Weight Of The World’ is a stunning, slow-building ballad, whilst ‘Still Suspicion Holds You Tight’ has the wirey, wise weariness of 70s Neil Young. Electric guitars are in short supply, but ‘Howl’ has more soul than anything they’ve ever done before. Final track ‘The Line’, which concludes over a mantra of ‘When did you stop caring?’, is more beautiful and brutal than anything they’ve ever done, the older, vulnerable counterpart to ‘Red Eyes And Tears’. ‘Howl’ is the sound of a band rediscovering themselves, a stellar – and surprising – return to top form for a band whose only hope of survival was to reinvent themselves. What happened to their rock’n’roll, we’ll never know, but ‘Howl’ is a brave, brilliant signpost towards BRMC’s future. They shouldn’t even have one.
Tagged as Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, archive
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