What's in a name? Nothing and everything. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club now goes by the acronym BRMC, which is a move in the right direction, as their full title sounds like the worst kind of throwaway, late-night, drugged jam session.

If you stand too close to an amp, you feel like you're in hell; stand too close to your headphones while Earl Greyhound is playing, and your skin might melt right off.

I've been waiting for a get-down-and-dirty rock 'n' roll album for a while-one that makes me want to dance, make out, and fight all at once. I should've known that it would come from Boss Hog's Cristina Martinez and Jon Spencer, along with Dutch badass Solex (aka Elisabeth Esselink) as impetus, inspiration, and added awesome.

It's impossible to look at the debut from Them Crooked Vultures with clear eyes.