Album Info

Baby 81

Alternative - 2007

When Howl, their 2005 detour into acoustic Dylanism, got a surprisingly warm response, one expected more of the same from... more

Tracklist

1

Took Out a Loan

4:15 min
2

Berlin

3:10 min
3

Weapon of Choice

2:49 min
4

Windows

6:06 min
5

Cold Wind

4:17 min
6

Not What You Wanted

3:43 min
7

666 Conducer

3:59 min
8

All You Do Is Talk

5:41 min
9

Lien On Your Dreams

4:35 min
10

Need Some Air

4:03 min
11

Killing the Light

3:54 min
12

American X

9:10 min
13

Am I Only

4:26 min
14

The Likes of You

5:20 min

About Baby 81

When Howl, their 2005 detour into acoustic Dylanism, got a surprisingly warm response, one expected more of the same from San Francisco’s BRMC. Instead, they trumped those expectations by daring to return to the big noise of the ‘90s Britpop/Jesus & Mary Chain-rooted electric-guitar sound that made their original reputation here. Which isn’t to say they didn’t learn a few things about focused songcraft from their previous detour into rootsy Americana. As produced by the band and the Call’s Michael Been, early tracks like “Berlin” and the single “Weapon of Choice” never let the sonic murk get in the way of the hooks, a balancing act that doesn’t necessarily yield the same results on the album’s middle third. The album’s gravity point seems the expansive “American X,” which drones with ambitious Psychedelic Furs intensity, if not quite the same hypnotic intrigue. It’s an album that strikes a complicated bargain, daring to return to the aura that won the band its original following, while challenging the converts it won with Howl.