Bad Brains Build a Nation (Mega Force)

It's been a decade since the proper Bad Brains lineup released a proper studio album, and Build a Nation finds the group just as furious as ever. Produced by the Beastie Boys's Adam Yauch, Nation is reminiscent of I Against I-era BB, and the album's songs are split pretty evenly between hardcore and reggae, as you might expect.

For those uninitiated, the release of another full-length by Bad Brains is a pretty big deal to most of us who have been listening to punk, hardcore and generally angsty rock music since our early teens. Punk's first (only?) all-black group, Bad Brains used metal, punk, jazz and funk in addition to the commonly cited reggae to shake their listeners to their core, issuing a sound that was beyond thrilling -- they were electric. The early '80s were ripe for bands emulating their Sex Pistols records, and plenty of bands did just that, but Bad Brains took a cue from the U.K. and the vaguely similar ska scene to fuse reggae with hardcore and a political slant, which is what earned them their cult status and legendary reputation. Recalling the band's hey day is almost bittersweet: back then, you had to actually go see shows to find out about the music most of the time, and the live show was so fantastic compared to crappy recordings, the band garnered much of its praise and following based on word of mouth.

Yet like any band that starts with a devotion to playing, touring and speaking out in the vague world of punk rock, Bad Brains experienced their share of problems and catastrophe. Vocalist HR's erratic behavior, inconsistent touring, and label woes certainly shook their spirits over the years. 1995's God of Love (their first major label effort) was a huge bomb, and Maverick's attempt to pick them up off the ground also ended in disaster as HR unexpectedly decided to leave the group. Years of half-assed solo projects and a handful of compilations eventually led to a break.

In 2006, the band sold out a couple of shows at CBGB's, and the apparent renewed interest in the band led to MegaForce's interest. With Yauch in the studio, the band has managed to capture the essence of their appeal once again -- brutal hardcore blasts accompanied by HR's crooning and reggae-influenced vocal style. The Beastie Boy, an old-school Bad Brains fan, is more than producer, he is a healer: resurrecting one of punk's most influential and powerful mainstays with songs like "Jah People Make the World Go Round." Although HR's voice ain't quite what it used to be, we find the band in good form, worthy of a spin and a little jaunt down hardcore's memory lane.

Bad Brains Official
Bad Brains MySpace
Sampe & Buy @ Waterloo Online

Follow the jump for the rest of today's releases.

108: New Beat from a Dead Heart (Deathwish Inc.)
Adina Howard: Private Show (Arsenal)
Bad Brains: Build a Nation (Mega Force)
Beastie Boys: Mix Up (Capitol)
Blondie: Eat to the Beat [CD/DVD] (Capitol)
Carl Cox: Global (Koch)
Colleen: Ondes Silencieuses (Leaf)
Conformists: Three Hundred (54-40 or Fight)
Deleted Waveform Gatherings: Complicated View (Rainbow Quartz)
Derek Bailey: Standards (Tzadik)
Desmond Dekker: This Is Crucial Reggae: Desmond Dekker (Sanctuary Trojan Us)
Dub Trio: Cool Out and Coexist (ROIR)
E-40: Hyphy Movement (Oarfin)
Elvis Presley: That's Alright (Snapper UK)
Five Blind Boys of Mississippi: Something to Shout About (Shout)
Frank Black: Best of Frank Black '93-'03 (Cooking Vinyl)
Gore Gore Girls: Get the Gore (Bloodshot)
Grandaddy Souf: Chasing My Dream (Universal)
Grateful Dead: Three from the Vault (Rhino)
Gravy Train: Staircase to the Day (Repertoire)
H.A.W.K.: Terrible Texas Dub K Six (Oarfin)
Ian Hunter/John Hunter: Magic Landscape
Johnny Cash: Best of the Sun Years (Snapper UK)
Juliana Hatfield: White Broken Line: Live Recordings (Ye Olde)
Kelly Clarkson: My December (RCA)
Loudon Wainwright III: Dead Skunk: The Complete Columbia Collection (Acadia)
Louis Armstrong: In Scandinavia (Storyville)
Marc Broussard: S.O.S.: Save Our Soul (Vanguard)
Mocean Worker: Cinco de Mowo!
Nels Cline Singers: Draw Breath: (Cryptogramophone)
Nick Lowe: At My Age (Yep Roc)
Nyoil: Hood Treason (Masta Mix)
The Ohio Players: Honey/Contradiction (Beat Goes On)
Orbital: Live at Glastonbury 1994-2004 (A.C.P.)
Paul Simon: Essential Paul Simo (Warner Bros.)
Pearl Jam: Live at the Gorge 05/06 (Rhino)
Pharoahe Monch: Desire (Universal)
Planet Asia: Jewelry Box Sessions: The Album (RBC)
Roy Orbison: Rocker (Snapper UK)
Ryan Adams: Easy Tiger (Lost Highway)
Sinead O'Connor: Theology (Koch)
Social Distortion: Greatest Hits (Time Bomb)
Soulwax: Hang All DJ's, Vol. 2
The Sound of Animals Fighting: Tiger and the Duke (Equal Vision)
Various Artists: Justin Timberlake Smooth Jazz Tribute (CC Ent. / Copycats)
The Winter Sounds: Porcelain Empire (Livewire Recordings)
The Zombies: Odessey and Oracle (Big Beat UK)