Street Sweeper Social Club - 'Street Sweeper Social Club' Review

Street Sweeper Social Club, the rap-rock supergroup consisting of Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello and Coup frontman Boots Riley, turns out to be much less than the sum of its impressive parts. The band’s self-titled debut features the expected guitar fury and lyrical invective, but on the whole the album feels like a collection of riffs and words rather than a groundbreaking statement. Fans of these two politically outspoken artists will be curious to check out Street Sweeper Social Club, but they’ll probably conclude that it’s not a high-water mark for either musician.

Both members of Street Sweeper Social Club have a long history of incorporating political protest in their music. Tom Morello’s ‘90s group Rage Against the Machine enjoyed writing very loud, very anthemic rock/metal songs about societal hypocrisy, and after Rage disbanded in 2000, he later went on to develop a folk-singer persona dubbed the Nightwatchman who attacked corruption in all its forms. Likewise, the Coup have proven to be one of the most fearsome political rap groups of the last decade. Boots Riley has performed at Morello concerts, and a Street Sweeper Social Club project has been in the works for several years. But now that it’s here, the album is a bit of a letdown. You could blame that disappointment on high expectations, but unfortunately the real answer isn’t that simple.

At its best, Street Sweeper Social Club is a snarling merger of the two artists’ strengths. On the slinky “Clap for the Killers,” we get Morello’s metal-edged guitar and Riley’s provocative lyrics, which pay homage to “real” gangsters, not idolized ones like Scarface’s Tony Montana. Rage Against the Machine helped legitimize rap-rock, so Morello’s pairing with Riley is a no-brainer – Riley, like Rage’s frontman Zack de la Rocha, enjoys throwing propagandist slogans into his raps. But there aren’t enough moments on Street Sweeper Social Club that feel truly inspired – instead, the album just recycles each performer’s modus operandi. A great RATM or Coup song makes you want to riot in the streets and overthrow the government. A lot of Street Sweeper Social Club will get you bobbing your head, but there’s an odd juxtaposition going on here – this is rebel music that too often just goes through the motions.

It’s interesting to compare Street Sweeper Social Club to last year’s side project from Morello’s former bandmate, Zack de la Rocha. One Day as a Lion was a forceful EP that proved that de la Rocha hadn’t lost any of his fire in recent years – of course, since the album only had five songs, it didn’t have an opportunity to wear out its welcome. Street Sweeper Social Club would have made for a dynamic EP, but at 11 tracks it drags. The album starts off strongly with “Fight! Smash! Win!” and ends well with the potent one-two punch of “Promenade” and “Nobody Moves (Til We Say Go),” but the middle section is much iffier, containing half-good ideas that rarely congeal into memorable tunes.

More of an interesting side note than a revelatory album, Street Sweeper Social Club has some great songs, but there simply aren’t enough of them to hold your interest. Anybody who wondered what it would sound like if Rage Against the Machine and the Coup joined forces now has his answer – and the betting is that he’ll realize the pairing isn’t nearly as galvanic as either group on its own.

'Street Sweeper Social Club' – Best Tracks:

“Clap for the Killers” (Purchase/Download)
“Promenade” (Purchase/Download)
“Nobody Moves (Til We Say Go)” (Purchase/Download)
“Fight! Smash! Win!” (Purchase/Download)

Release date – June 16, 2009
Warner Music Group