After much consideration, I've decided that I don't like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. That's not to say they're not a good band, just that I don't like them. They remind me of Oasis. I don't like Oasis either. They remind me of Blur. I'm not a terribly large fan of Blur. They remind me of The Tender Idols. I don't like The Tender Idols.

So, I don't like BRMC. Their music is that bland sort of overproduced, studio pop that British bands churned out in the middle part of the 90s.

Now, there are a lot of people out there who will love this band. There are, after all, hundreds of thousands of Blur and/or Oasis fans populating the planet. There are seemingly endless hoards of people who find this sort of thing unparalleled entertainment. And hey, more power to them. They should all go out and buy themselves into Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, ASAP. They can wear their mod haircuts, and their frilly-sleeved shirts, and their leather pants. They can dance the night away, if they so desire. BRMC are just the sort of band to provide them with the soundtrack.

But I don't like them. I don't wear leather pants, and I don't wear frilly-sleeved shirts, and I don't have a mod haircut. And I don't dance.

I like my rock-n-roll raw and furious, angry and loud, and not just a little bit obnoxious. I don't mind too terribly much if it substitutes stupidity for pomposity. BRMC tend to play that kind of guitar rock that enjoys pomp and pretense above all.

Now, I'm going to give BRMC four sponges, because I know full well that there are a lot of people out there that are going to dig the sound. I don't. (Have I mentioned that yet?) But a lot of people will. And as far as the Blur/Oasis sound goes, BRMC do a fine job with it. A couple of songs even border on "top of the genre" status. Whatever Happened to My Rock-n-Roll is pretty nifty in that regard. It's not Song 2 catchy, but it does a fine job of moving the asses of those who would dance. But that's the height of the album's run-time, and the rest of it just sort of exists in the background of the listener's brain (unless said listener is wearing leather pants.)