Beat the Devil's Tattoo

iTunes Review

On 2010’s Beat the Devil’s Tattoo, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club switch it up between their love for Jesus and Mary Chain feedback-drenched pop and their sudden turn towards Americana on 2005’s Howl. The title-track kicks things off with a tribal sing-a-long that’s part-desert hallucination, part psych-punk freakout. “Conscience Killer” follows with a similar introduction before mowing down the opposition with a rattle-shaking garage rock. Hints of Nick Cave and the Fleshtones tilt this style war in several different directions, all with confident success. In another universe, “Bad Blood” and “Evol” (nothing to do with the Sonic Youth album of the same title) would jangle with a mid-‘80s aura, but here they’re covered in reverb and left moaning in the moonlight. “War Machine” blurts with an over-modulated stoner-metal riff while “Sweet Feeling” kicks back with an acoustic ballad. “Mama Taught Me Better” jams out a boogie riff. “River Styx” is surprisingly light on the “death” part of the trip. “Long Way Down” sounds like a demented person’s interpretation of a piano ballad from the Beatles’ “White Album.”