Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Howl

Before I begin to offer my opinion in too many words, I’ll admit something right from the beginning: I’m stumped. Anticipating the release of this album, I made a conscious effort to avoid all related press and would quickly flee from the record store if it ever came on the PA. I wanted my first listen to be a surprise. So, I guess I asked for it. Gone is the towering fuzzy feedback and angst-ridden grit of their debut BRMC. Gone even is the juvenile sloganeering of Take them on, on your own. With the new RCA label (and new name for Robert ‘Turner,’ now ‘Levon Been’), the band has traded in their peddles for harmonicas. To veteran Black Rebel fans, Howl will feel foreign right from track one. Opening with the proclamation that “Time won’t save our souls,” "Shuffle your feet" gets right down to the deep-south soul with the 2/4 claps and rhythm guitars. Exemplary to this drastic change in sound is single "Ain’t no easy way," with its guitar slides, harmonica solo, and what could be fiddles. My personal favorite is "Fault line," the most stripped down song on the whole album (and probably the entire BRMC catalogue), using nothing but Hayes’ vocals, a guitar, and yet another harmonica. But even with this sudden folksy-outburst, Howl still hints towards the BRMC we’re more familiar with. Opening with an organ’s pulse, the title track actually ends up echoing Oasis circa Be here now. Album closer "The Line" seems to have been back- logged from their debut, while the Beatles-y "Promise" doesn’t seem to fit the lineup at all. However, tracks like "Weight of the world" and "Sympathetic Noose" are closer to where the band’s natural progression would lead them: The same emotive atmosphere that has suited them so well so far but with cleaner melodies and more concise song-writing. So why am I stumped? Because I can’t decide what this album means for BRMC. Is this a band that’s finally come out of its shell, and, as they claim, found their "voice?" Or, is it one that’s desperately trying to find its footing, running frantically from its Jesus and Mary Chain comparisons? The scattered influences present here would suggest the latter. As Howl is being deemed a breakthrough for the trio, I disagree: Black Rebel are certainly trying to evolve, but with this effort they’ve jumped the gun way too quickly. Unfortunately, after living with the album for a while, I’m left feeling more alienated than refreshed. Kind of like Take them on, Howl feels more like another posture than a new beginning. But that’s just me. [www.blackrebelmotorcycleclub.com]