Beat the Devil's Tattoo

I've finished listening to 'Beat the Devil's Tattoo', the new BRMC album. I offer a review. I may not be the objective of reviewers, but, on the other hand, I'm very familiar with the band's work.

My biggest qualm with the band's last effort, 'Baby 81' was that it seemed to lack their character. Many bands could have released the Zepplin-esque rock and gotten away with it. The bluesy structures of their early work was missing, and the songwriting flirted dangerously with tired rock cliches.

What BtDT represents is a large step forward in the form of careful retrospection. The form of blues rock they have crafted seems to borrow wisely from the strengths of their previous work. The album opens with the title track, a classic foot-stomper that already highlights the strengths of the band's new drummer Leah Shapiro, formerly a Raveonette.

The title track actually isn't one of the strongest tracks on the record, as Conscience Killer and Bad Blood, the next two songs, rock even harder, showcasing great rock songwriting solidifying the blues sound that persists through the album. The fourth track War Machine, as well as the final track, Half-State, show that the band still isn't afraid of making noise, but they do so with a lot of depth, presenting a very layered and listenable version of their cacophony.

The strengths of their third album 'Howl' are on display in the more stripped-down songs Sweet Feeling (a personal favourite) and The Toll. They're sonically deeper than much of Howl, with enough added blues to take it away from the Bob Dylan sound of that record. The dual vocalist duty of Levon Been and Hayes is better here than in any of their previous work, and adds an additional level of character to the album.

Towards the end of the album it could be contended that it loses its way; the cohesion of the first two thirds seems a bit lacking, but the individual tracks are still solid. Perhaps the album would have been better without Shadow's Keeper, though it remains a good song, more rock than blues compared to the rest of the album. The 10-minute Half-State brings the album to a very loud conclusion, highlighting excellent noise and great drumming.

I do believe this is their best album yet. Despite being their 6th, it is the first that truly sounds like BRMC. They've seized a sound that is entirely their own, one that seems to fit them more naturally and authentically than anything prior. They've taken the strongest and most characteristic portions of their prior records and brought them together in an exceptionally enjoyable package.

Moreover, it sounds like a 'live' record, a set of tunes that will make for great concerts.

Below is Bad Blood, but you can Youtube the rest of the album if you want. Of course, without proper sound quality you don't get everything the album has to offer, but there you have it.