Music Review: BRMC

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, "Baby 81" (RCA): The main knock on Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is that they cover ground that's been tread plenty of times before — but they still cover it very well on their fourth album, "Baby 81."

The disc takes the best elements of their first three discs and mixes them into a hecticly potent — and very loud — stew of psychedelia, space rock, dusty country blues and acoustic protest rock. It isn't as pleasant a surprise as the complete left turn they took on the 2005 acoustic rocker "Howl," but they still play to all their strengths throughout.

Peter Hayes and Robert Levon Been continue to ably split time on guitar, bass and vocals — maintaining the same rebellious beat-poet spirit in their lyrics — and Nick Jago's return to full-time studio drumming provides the same big sound the band showcased on their 2001 self-titled debut and 2003 follow-up "Take Them On, On Your Own."

The juicy riff on the mid-tempo howler "Took Out A Loan" sets the right tone before they follow with an immediate high-note on the strutting rocker "Berlin."

From there they jump from folk rock ("Windows," a rollicking "Not What You Wanted" and "Am I Only") to spacy blues jams ("666 Conducer," "American X") and trippy post-modern rock ("Lien On Your Dreams," "Need Some Air"). They also slow things down on "All You Do Is Talk" and get downright gloomy on the appropriately titled "Killing the Light."

"Baby 81" may be a bit of a rehash, but Black Rebel Motorcycle Club do it with plenty of attitude and style — and sound best with the volume cranked up.

CHECK THIS OUT: For a taste of B.R.M.C.'s protest swagger, the driving blues and acoustic rock of "Weapon of Choice" has it all — and boasts plenty of anti-war sentiment with the line, "I won't waste my love on a nation."

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