Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

I was going to start off by making a joke that was something along the lines of the Twilight franchise wishing they could make dark and brooding look as sexy and cool as BRMC make it sound. Then, I saw they actually had a song on the New Moon soundtrack, and all logic escaped me. But hey, even generally talented and awesome people sometimes get attached to moneymaking juggernauts, and I can’t really blame them for that. They’ve got to keep gas in their tour buses, after all. And if it’s good enough for Thom Yorke to attach his name to, who am I to disparage it? Point being, BRMC makes some really solid atmospheric rock. Possibly best consumed under the influence of mind-altering substances (not that I would know firsthand or anything), the trio can write and play a psychedelic jam session like nobody’s business. Each of the three band members finds time to shine on specific tracks, depending on the pacing of the song, from the slower, more haunting, guitar-focal tracks, to the more aggressive, drum and vocal-driven ones. And if there was ever an appropriately dark and brooding-friendly venue to see these guys play at, it is undoubtedly the Echoplex. - Brien Overly