Online only: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: B-

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club can't seem to get a break. After a much-buzzed-about debut, they released a less-warmly received follow-up and were dropped from their label, Virgin Records. For their third album, Howl, the band (minus drummer Nick Jago, for the most part) radically changed their sound, trading in their distortion-heavy rock for hard-edged, bluesy Americana. Critics praised it, but fans expressed disappointment. So, for fourth album, Baby 81, BRMC (now with Jago again) have brought the distortion back. The result falls somewhere between their debut and Howl -- taking a stab at combining the former's Jesus and Mary Chain-like cool with the latter's simplicity and repetition, while throwing in some sweeping U2-style guitar for good measure. But, like the Spinal Tap joke goes, by mixing fire and ice, BRMC get lukewarm water -- Baby 81 slips from cool into dispassionate, and the listener could reasonably ask, "if the band sounds like they don't care, why should I?" \nTo their credit, when things do click, BRMC strikes paydirt. The album's finest track, "Berlin" merges a dangerous, throbbing bass, squealing lead guitar, sleazily sexy vocals and a great chorus ("Suicide's easy / What happened to the revolution?") -- it's the sort of rock that 50's squares would call "the devil's music." Other takes on this formula are pretty fun, if not quite as good -- particularly "Weapon Of Choice," "666 Conducer" and "Lien On Your Dreams." But many others just turn into forgettable filler -- "Window," "Cold Wind" and "Killing The Light," for example. And then there's the album's single worst moment: "American X," a trite swipe at right-wing puritans that concludes with more than four minutes of go-nowhere instrumental noodling. \nPerhaps, given enough experimentation, BRMC will finally produce an unquestionably classic album -- but this one sure isn't it.