The Jesus and Mary Chain is one of the most important bands of the last twenty years, and its debut, “Psychocandy,” is one of the greatest albums of all time.
I once accidentally plugged a pair of headphones into my guitar amplifier’s external speaker jack.
With the first chord I struck, the headphones began smoking.
That is what The Jesus and Mary Chain sounds like.
Among the cadre of “new rock revival” acts are The Raveonettes of Denmark, and San Francisco’s Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.
Both share an affinity for ’50s movies, motorcycles, and wearing black leather jackets at the wrong time of year.
Both, upon the release of their first albums (“Whip It On” and “BRMC,” respectively), were almost marginalized by comparisons to The Jesus and Mary Chain (JMC).
On their second album, “Chain Gang of Love”, The Raveonettes fail to shake free of that burden.
Aside from a few flourishes of California surf and Hawaiian guitar, guitarist/songwriter Sune Rose Wagner and bassist Sharin Foo display a slavish devotion to the JMC formula.
It is testament to that formula, however, that “Chain Gang”, while utterly inessential, is still quite good and rather enjoyable.
“That Great Love Sound” is an undeniable, propulsive pop gem, like something The Pixies might have tried if they hadn’t been afraid to drop the artifice.
Like “Whip It On” (all in Bb minor), the songs on “Chain Gang” are all in one key, this time Bb major.
Though the minor key gave “Whip It” a darker, moodier edge, the restriction made all of the songs sound like inferior versions of standout opener “Attack of the Ghost Riders.”
“Chain Gang” generally manages to avoid that problem, but as a result, it is relentlessly cheerful.
Perhaps if The Raveonettes stop limiting themselves, they can produce a truly great album. But this isn’t it.
For Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, the JMC has always been more of a spiritual influence.
Their first album mimicked the chanty melodies and the drive of the JMC’s darker moments.
Largely by sticking to their own formula, with “Take Them On, On Your Own”, BRMC has accomplished something astonishing for a band just putting out its second album – to compare it to its influences no longer does it justice.
“Take Them On” gets off to a shaky start. “Stop” is a chugging, nearly successful attempt at an anthem.
“We’re All in Love” barely manages to stay better than dull.
While these songs certainly rock, they don’t have much discernable melody, and the riffs, though endlessly repeated, are not the hooks that they should be.
When something truly exciting happens, namely the epileptic guitar figure that opens “In Like the Rose,” the listener breathes a sigh of relief, but “Ha Ha High Babe,” the one-eighth of a song idea the band thought it would be good to extend to four minutes, spoils the mood.
The next half of the record saves the day.
BRMC has always done a little better with the slower, more atmospheric numbers. By taking the tempo down a bit in “Shade of Blue” and “Suddenly,” BRMC has more space to breathe.
It shows that it hasn’t lost its knack for a surprising melody or key change.
The song “U.S. Government” will certainly get the boys on John Ashcroft’s list.
Unless they experience some serious creative growth very soon, the Raveonettes will continue to border on redundancy, no matter how many brilliant songs they produce (two and counting).
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, for all its shortcomings, is at least doing its own (highly-influenced) thing.
It is in an elevated place in the contemporary rock scene.
Expect even greater things from it in the near future.
