Band:	Street Sweeper So…
Album:	Street Sweeper So…

Fan expectations are a hell of a thing. Just ask Rage Against The Machine. After three solid original albums under their belt as well as a compilation of covers, RATM called it quits just as they were breaking into mainstream rock radio. A rabid fan base had kept them alive for years before “The Battle of Los Angeles” but for a band with a message as forceful as RATM’s to break into regular rotation on MTV was unusual to say the least.

Queue the 2000 MTV music awards that spelled doom for the band. Shortly afterwards Zack de la Rocha, lead singer for RATM issued a statement that he was leaving the band. What followed was something that few people could have seen coming. Audioslave burst onto the musical scene; the aggressive riffs of RATM supplied by all three instrumentalist of the former band playing behind the caterwauling voice of Chris Cornell, ex-Soundgarden singer. De la Rocha kept relatively quiet until One Day as a Lion, his latest side project, received relatively good reviews and decent airplay. Not to be outdone Tom Morello, guitar wizard and superactivist has unleashed his latest album on the world.

Street Sweeper Social Club is the newest collaboration that Morello has laid his funk metal riffs on. Morello lays down his usual guitar tricks, bombastic licks, and lets the social commentary rest on an MC. Sound familiar? Boots Riley of The Coup fame throws down a decidedly different groove then de la Rocha does, relying more on a swaggering, southern style then the in your face stylings of the RATM onstage madman.

It’s hard not to hear Rage in SSSC’s album. Morello’s guitar style is SO distinctive that you’ll find yourself constantly waiting for Tim C. and Brad Wilk to jump and make things that much more intense. It’ll never happen, don’t waste your time. The slinky guitar riffs are all you’re going to get that pays any sort of tribute to the greatness that was Rage. If you can accept that this project is a neutered version of Rage that will never have the same musical or political impact that the original group did, then you’ll be fine. The problem that I have with this record is that I had the expectation (there it is again) that these songs would be just as, if not more, hardcore then the One Day as a Lion songs were. One would think that with de la Rocha’s aggressive shot across the bow that was “Wild International”, Morello would’ve upped his game. Unfortunately that’s not the case.

Boots Riley isn’t a bad MC, he’ll just never be as hard-hitting as de la Rocha. It’s like Fox News vs. CNN; They are both, basically, saying the same thing, but you know just from looking at and listening to Fox that it’s a sham and trying to impersonate the reigning king. Bad analogy? You bet, but it’s hard to make a good one when it comes to politically charged music. Someone will always say you’ve forgotten the point. If the point is to make music with a message then SSSC has succeeded. If the goal was to make good music with a message then they’ve failed. Miserably.

Take “Somewhere in the World it’s Midnight” for instance. It’s a song about guerilla warfare and children getting caught in the middle. Now Boots Riley writes a good refrain and the song is pretty good until we get to the lyric “Y’all might just drank and fuck to this.” Now. De le Rocha knew that some people listening to his music would drink and fuck to his words, but he never out and acknowledged it. It’s a very gangsta rap thing to do. This album reeks of modern commercialized Hip-Hop style.

To me this is the difference between RATM and SSSC. RATM was a political band first and foremost whereas SSSC is a band that just happens to have some political lyrics. It’s stylish, well produced and well played, but unfortunately there’s no substance behind the style. Riley did his best to keep up with the original, but he just doesn’t have the chops to keep up with the OG of political Hip-Hop.

Every single lyric could have had a modern Hip-Hop beat behind it and most likely would’ve been better served by such a treatment. Can the same be said for de la Rocha? Not a chance.

Street Sweeper Social Club Official Site
Street Sweeper Social Club on MySpace
Street Sweeper Social Club - “Street Sweeper Social Club” on Amazon

Release Date: June 16th, 2009

“Street Sweeper Social Club” - Tracklist
(* recommended tracks)

1. Fight! Smash! Win!
2. 100 Little Curses
3. The Oath
4. The Squeeze
5. Clap for the Killers
6. Somewhere in the World it’s Midnight
7. Shock You Again
8. Good Morning Mrs. Smith
9. Megablast
10. Promenade
11. Nobody Moves ’til We Say Go

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