Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Take Them On, On Your Own
Virgin
Street Date - September 2, 2003

From the word go, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's interpretation of moody neo-psychedelic rock created a curious impact on the music scene of the late nineties, which subsequently recognized an undeniable cult success. Naturally, the anticipated sophomore effort would have some living up to do and on Take Them On…. the gloomy glam that BRMC courts is still present. The fuzzy bass laden nucleus of the album is surrounded by a pool of white noise adumbrating the swooning elements of a more sensually stylized collection of songs. BRMC are still dark yet never depressive. The trio's secret in captivating a growing audience may lay in their hat tipping to bands like Tones on Tail and Jesus and Mary Chain; early forefathers of the brooding and obscure who paved the way for later successors like The Charlatans UK and The Verve.

The songs dissected have a mish mash of familiar sonority. 'Ha Ha High Babe's' bass / drum rawness plays much like P J Harvey minimalism touched with vocals reminiscent of T-Rex. 'Six Barrel Shotgun' and 'Stop' sound like leftovers from Oasis's early days and Brian Jonestown Massacre's spirit playfully flows through 'We're All In Love.' BRMC dutifully fulfill more typical expectations with catchy effect-frosted riffs in 'Rise and Fall' and 'In Like The Rose.' 'Suddenly' is the enchanting beauty of the bunch with sweeping lushness amid crooning romantic vocals. Remarkably, throughout the album's spacious and lengthy twelve tracks, the Rebels make it known to us that ultimately, they've remained true to their sound, as original as they can make it. Their personalized mark of distinction can be heard through their passionately driven rhythms laced with their penchant for scathing slide guitar and hypnotic bass undertones. Now that Take Them On… has shown only minor changes within a consistent format, BRMC's challenge will be in how well they use subtlety to their advantage.

By Noel Hernandez