Mulldoggey, Alex and I have been speculating about the likely awesomeness of the new BRMC album Baby 81 since "Weapon of Choice" and "666 Conducer" leaked about a month ago. Based on those two tracks and interviews with the band, it was clear that BRMC were moving away from the more acoustic sound of their third album and headed back to the trademark sound they developed on their debut B.R.M.C. and its slightly disappointing follow-up Take Them On, On Your Own: angry guitars, driving basslines, and plenty of distortion.

While on the surface Baby 81 is far more like the first two albums than Howl, it's also cleaner and more accessible than anything they've previously done. Among the album's 13 tracks, I'm still trying to find one that I feel like skipping past. While Howl had some great songs that they never would have otherwise produced ("Weight of the World," "Howl," and "Sympathetic Noose") it also sounded like Robert Been (vocals/bass) and Peter Hayes (vocals/guitar) had strayed from their strengths as musicians. Drummer Nick Jago had left the band during the recording of Howl, so it wasn't surprising that this was the album where Hayes' acoustic leanings would finally come to the fore. Even the songs that did have drums sounded like they were coming from a band without a drummer; the cohesive sound wasn't always there. The new album offers four classic hard-rocking BRMC songs that rank with the best off the first two albums: lead single "Weapon of Choice" as well as "Lien On Your Dreams," "Berlin," and "Took Out a Loan." But on top of that you've also got the Beatlesy "Window" and Joshua Tree-era U2 sound of "All You Do Is Talk," which might well be the best song on the album.

I'm guessing the critics might see this album as something of a retread, but I'm having a hard time imagining I'll like an album this year more than I'm liking Baby 81 right now.

BRMC / "All You Do Is Talk"

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Random music:

Elk City / "Los Cruzados"
Elk City / "Cherries in the Snow"
Voxtrot / "Kid Gloves"
Archives / "Sleepdriving"

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If you didn't see the ending to the Division II championship game, you'll want to give it a look.

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The boys in Penthouse M don't have shit on this: Millennium Pong.

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Random linkage:
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- Chuck Klosterman talks about American indifference towards NFL drug abuse
- Ozzie Guillen is already in midseason form
- I'm sick and tired of not having a 273-mph street car.
- How they pulled off that crash in the new Bond flick.
- Geico Caveman and Phil Simms--who knew Phil could act?