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Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
EMAILPRINTby Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 16 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 15 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Virgin
Release Date: 03 April 2001
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Rock, Alternative
Summary
The major-label debut from the British-influenced rockers from Los Angeles.
Also By This Artist: Baby 81 Howl Take Them On, On Your Own
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Wall of Sound
These songs don't require repeated listening to foster appreciation; they affect immediately -- and relentlessly.
Read Full Review >Pitchfork
Consistently excellent and deserves to be heard by fans of 70's glam and shoegazer alike.
Read Full Review >New Musical Express
All of these incredible songs shimmer and vibrate with the riotous majesty of 'Psychocandy' without a trace of the Mary Chain's post-'Honey's Dead' self-parody.
Read Full Review >Launch.com
B.M.R.C. deliver potent, intelligent, memorable melodies that are both subtle and provocative.
Read Full Review >Magnet
This California band seems to be one of those rare times when the major labels get it right. [#50, p.80]
All Music Guide
This self-produced major-label debut boldly plunders a reverb-and-white noise course previously trampled underfoot by long-gone British bands of the late '80s and early '90s (the Jesus & Mary Chain, the Verve, Ride, the Stone Roses, etc.).
Read Full Review >Alternative Press
There's a defiance to BRMC's carefully crafted mix of brooding vocals and blurred melody that unites disparate musical elements into blasts of noisy cohesion and howling passion. [#155, p.72]
Q Magazine
What makes BRMC extra special and what steers them well clear of parody drone-rock territory is their three-dimensional sound. [Jan 2002, p.103]
CDNow
Although the album lags somewhat in parts and is bogged down a bit by an overarching sameness, this is a promising start.
Read Full Review >HOB.com
A flawless blend of acoustic-turns-into-fuzz guitar work and backbeat rhythms that create the aural equivalent of fog.
Read Full Review >Mojo
All BRMC really have in common with The Strokes is hype and haircuts, but their music lives up to both. [Feb 2002, p.92]
Trouser Press
When it pays off -- which is more often than not -- BRMC's fuzzed- out angry shoegazer stance reaches levels of sonic brilliance unmatched by any of their peers.
Read Full Review >Neumu.net
They're merely using Psychocandy as a workaday aesthetic strategy and, despite loads of melodrama, they never sound pretentious about it either.
Read Full Review >Blender
Always dark, sometimes lovely. [Jun/Jul 2001, p.105]
Uncut
One Lupine Howl is already too much, thanks. [Feb 2002, p.111]
Dot Music
Either they've been taking too much heroin or not enough, but 'Black Rebel Motorcycle Club' is as limp as a soggy spliff the ragged morning after.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 8.6 (out of 10) based on 15 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
kit gave it a10:
quite possibly the best album of all time
lenny s gave it a10:
best blend of rock for thee ages... and such
Ben T gave it a10:
pedal to the metal, dark, layered rock that vairies from the desolate brilliance of Awake to the viceral progression of Whatever Happened...album of 2001
Saskia V gave it a 10:
A (Dutch) critic once described a (Dutch) author as a 'soul without a skin'. That's exactly what I think of this album: it's sensitive, moving and honest.
le critical gave it a 9:
i've always loved bands that take their influences, marinate and modify the sound, and come up with a great distinct album not to mention the interesting band name. You and I both know that the next album these guys make will be the greatest.
Fabio C. gave it an 8:
it´s the album the gallagher brothers are dreaming to make since a long time. this music is dirty, full of angst and rock in its pure clothes. sure as the sun has a bass loop that worths the entire cd. perfect to walk in an unknown city.
David P. gave it a 8:
Best new sounding anything in years. Punk energy with outstanding sensitivy in it's lyrical content. I rocked out, I "felt" out!
