BRMC - Heads Up High

Providing a grittier, dirtier edge to the Strokes-led US invasion of the UK in the early Noughties; Black Rebel Motorcycle Club hot-footed through the ranks, selling out the UK's largest club venues and swiftly headlining the Reading festival (albeit via Jack White's broken hand). Now, some five years on, the band are playing things decidedly low key when The Skinny catches up with them backstage at a sell-out King Tut's show. They speak to us about the return of Nick Jago for their fourth longplayer, the "drag" of supporting Neil Young and the string 'em up, cut 'em down mentality of the business.

Without a doubt, this San Franciscan trio have sampled the power of the UK's music press first hand, having been front-page darlings around the release of their eponymous debut and follow-up Take Them On, On Your Own. "I feel bad for all these bands being slapped on the front covers before they've had a chance to achieve anything in their own right," confesses half of BRMC's multi-talented front duo, Robert Levon Been. "It just means that people come to their shows to sample them, so they're there to be knocked down."

"Bands with a point to them don't really get the chance today," adds wing man Peter Hayes. "Now it's just bands writing pop songs disguised as rock and roll who get the headlines. We're lucky that our music kept our fans interested once the press had gone away but generally we try not to pay too much attention to what's written about us." Indeed, the twosome appear to care less about the fickle machinations of the industry, and more about the standard and integrity of their musical output thus far, seemingly thankful for a post-hype opportunity to play for the 'real' fans in proper rock and roll venues. "It's great to play the little rock clubs – that's where the spirit is. When you get to a certain scale of 'massive', it becomes hard to avoid the conveyor belt of the pre-processed rock show," laments Been, in reference to their recent Killers support slot. "They were great guys and it was good to be able to play to a new bunch of people on such a scale but the whole set up had a kind of sterile feeling to it."

Of course, the 'Club have experienced big shows before, having been hand picked to support the likes of the Rolling Stones, Oasis and Neil Young in the past, but they admit frustration at being asked by the next big thing to open for them. "Yeah, it's frustrating but sometimes you just gotta do it. I mean Neil Young, who does he think he is, man?" says Robert, much to Peter's amusement. "Yeah, opening for Neil Young's a real drag..."

The release of 2005's Howl, to relatively little fanfare and after somewhat of a break-up, showcased a band in total control of their work although apparently out of touch with the music-buyer, despite the extensive critical acclaim with which the album was met. The album was predominantly the work of Been and Hayes - having parted company with drummer Nick Jago after a now-infamous spat in Scotland's fair capital the previous summer - and was a lush piece of acoustic Americana to further highlight the talents of both men as notable songwriters and musicians.

So how did the return of Jago influence the new record? "It's just a different way of writing a song, with Howl we started with acoustic guitars and built the sound up where we wanted. Now we have a full band again so that's where we start - it's like reading a story backwards," relates Been. Sure enough, with Jago back in the fold, new album Baby 81 packs more of a solid rock and roll punch than its predecessor whilst retaining some of those dirty blues sentiments. First single Weapon of Choice is an instant BRMC classic, with now trademark slide guitar and fuzzy bass driving home their killer hooks with maximum effect.

After the riotous King Tut's show we take in tonight, it's clear to see that the fans love their heroes as much as ever. "Scotland and Newcastle are our two favourite places to play… awesome," Been concludes, "…and that's true, I'm not angling for a front cover here." And so it is, the Rebels are back in the saddle and happy to take the road ahead.