Artist: Black Rebel Motorcyle Club
Album: Specter at the feast
Bitrate: 245kbps avg
Quality: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.98.4 / -V0 / 44.100Khz
Label: Cooperative Music / V2
Genre: Rock
Size: 108.01 megs
PlayTime: 0h 58min 42sec total
Rip Date: 2013-03-22
Store Date: 2013-03-22
Track List:
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01. Fire walker 6:23
02. Let the day begin 4:06
03. Returning 5:34
04. Lullaby 4:36
05. Hate the taste 3:50
06. Rival 3:37
07. Teenage Disease 3:22
08. Some kind of Ghost 3:51
09. Sometimes the light 3:20
10. Funny games 4:38
11. Sell it 6:46
12. Lose yourself 8:39
Release Notes:
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On their 2001 debut, B.R.M.C., Black Rebel Motorcycle Club offered a song titled
ôWhatever Happened to my Rock and Roll (Punk Song),ö an energetic and
attitude-driven paradigm for what the band thought rock and roll should sound
like, or at least the attitude that rock bands should possess. Including this
type of song on a debut implied that they would try to right the ship (and also
demonstrated that they care more about their music ideology than about the
grammar rules of ôwhateverö versus ôwhat everö).
For a few albums, including a creative peak in the vastly underrated Howl, BRMC
encompassed all that they believed rock should be, a crucible of influences that
spanned decades, that fans of The White Stripes and Zeppelin and Supergrass and
JAMC could all relate to.
And then they started sounding a lot like Stone Temple Pilots. Sure, the band
continually draws crowds, but after Howl, they also embarked down a road that
saw their sonic evolution settle in a place that felt worn and easy, running the
course of three disappointing albums whose best attribute was that the band
seemed comfortable. What ever happened to our rock and roll, indeed.
Their seventh LP, Specter at the Feast, is anything but complacent. It comes
nearly three years after their previous release, 2010æs Beat the DevilÆs Tattoo,
and the band has endured the unthinkable tragedy of bassist/singer Robert Levon
BeenÆs father, Michael Been of Æ80s band The Call, suddenly dying backstage
while working as the groupÆs sound engineer as the trio performed at Pukkelpop
Festival in Belgium. The time between this event and now has seen the group
trying to cope with the loss of a crew and family member, and Specter at the
Feast is written as a document to that time, an ambitious and personal project
from a group that hasnÆt been associated much with ambition since the release of
Howl.
And, the effort shows, as the album sits easily with their early best, a worthy
addition in the tradition of turning heartbreaking circumstances into cathartic
art. Just this year we witnessed Local Natives digging in the same mine, but
from Lou Reed to Arcade Fire, some of rockÆs best music has been a reaction to
personal losses.
Specter at the Feast, though, doesnÆt drown in its depression. It is intent on
showing the range of the human experience. Opening with the dirty, bass-driven
ôFirewalker,ö the first emotions on the collection are not self-pity, but
self-reflection, and the following ôLet the Day Beginö covers The Call with a
nod to Æ70s metal riffs and British rock revivalism, both songs paying as much
homage to BeenÆs father as they do to the history of Black Rebel Motorcycle
Club.
At its best, Specter at the Feast is more than just vintage BRMC, with some of
the more UK-indebted noise pop reaching impressive heights. ôReturningö lunges
for vast emotional peaks and exceeds them with a sense of a sprawling shine,
while ôLullabyö takes the guitar lick of ôIn My Lifeö and spins it in freeing,
new directions, avoiding anything more than comparisons as a successful homage.
And if the album was written to demonstrate the ups and downs that come with
lifeÆs typical unpredictability, the closing combination of ôSell Itö and ôLose
Yourself,ö together clocking in at around 15 minutes, encapsulate this mission.
The end impression left by these closers is how out of control we all are, as
they shift from noise and chaos to beauty and peace. More than a decade later,
you have to wonder if BRMC ever realized that the only thing that ever happened
to rock and roll was life, and that itÆs all far more complicated than a single
song or band can remedy. Reacting to what life has given them has made Black
Rebel Motorcycle Club a better band on Specter at the Feast, and we can hope
that this change will stick.
a better band on Specter at the Feast, and we can hope
that this change will stick.