Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Wrong Creatures

The first major comeback in rock for 2018 is an absolute bombshell.

The eighth and new studio work by the American band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, "Wrong Creatures," is a stunning album. Ugly, dirty, and mean as per the house tradition, as well as an incredible return to a stellar form after two good, but not exceptional, efforts like "Beat The Devil’s Tattoo" and "Specter At The Feast."

Produced by the absolute guarantor named Nick Launay (a Nick Cave partner) and preceded by the furious rock ‘n roll of the excellent single "Little Thing Gone Wild," "Wrong Creatures" is not the introspective return many were expecting (considering the band's hardships in recent years, particularly the illness of the drummer Leah Shapiro), but rather a punch straight to the gut. Fundamentally a rock record with very few moments of calm, it fuses alternative, indie, psych, garage, and a splash of shoegaze without missing a beat, actually blending everything together in an incredibly effective way. Tracks like "Ninth Configuration" and "Question Of Faith" have now become a trademark in every sense for the American band.

After a martial and funereal intro like "DFF," one expects a swift descent into hell, but instead, Peter Hayes and company surprise with "Spook," a dirty, dusty alt piece with a warm and enveloping chorus, and "King Of Bones," another straight-up rock track that is hammering and incisive. The first moment of quiet comes with the gothic blues of "Haunt" and "Echo." The latter deserves the title of the best track on the album; a perfectly calibrated mid-tempo, halfway between Lou Reed's "Walk On The Wild Side" and Jesus And Mary Chain.

There are even signs of a sound update in the duo "Calling Them All Away" and "Circus Bazooko," both tracks that take their time in building the foundation for a complexity (emotional, but also in the musical offering) never before observed in the band's work. And there is also a surprising ending with "All Rise," a beautiful, stellar track, built from a dark and suffocating piano to a sonic explosion at the end.

"Wrong Creatures" is a splendid album, probably the best by BRMC. A work tremendously on target that raises the bar of expectations for the future of the trio led by Peter Hayes.

Best track: Echo