The eponymous debut album from the BRMC was a self-assured blast of rock n roll that stuck largely to a classic template but had enough about it to suggest that this was a band to watch.
Their follow-up record, ‘Take Them On, On Your Own’ kicks off in grand style with current single ‘Stop’, whose menacing buzz saw bass making for a memorable opener. And the glorious riff of the next track, ‘Six Barrel Shotgun’ worms its way firmly into your head. And then. . .well, it’s largely disappointing.

‘Ha Ha High Babe’ with its single line repeated throughout, sounds ha ha half finished. They tackle state corruption in ‘US Government’ but its nowhere near as dangerous as it would like to be. The constant dark lyrics of suffocation and dislocation begin to grate after a few listens and you yearn for a bit of light.

It’s not without its moments, but that’s all they are. ‘And I’m Aching’ is emotionally resonant, as is the slow burning ‘Shade Of Blue’. And at least they’re attempting to tackle issues, such as the family unit on ‘Rise And Fall’ and apathy on ‘Generation.’

It’s a criticism levelled at them before, but this album will do little to dispel the Jesus And Mary Chain comparisons. They’re going to need to broaden their palette a bit if they want us to take them as seriously as they take themselves. Too much of this is derivative and it contains more than one jam too many. Its not a totally bad album, but its far from the classic some have already labelled it.

words: Adrian McGahan