Tom Morello Returns to His Roots with the Help of Boots Riley

Street Sweeper Social Club is a new collaboration between former Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello with The Coup rapper Boots Riley. Morello plays bass this time as well and Stanton Moore of Galactic provides the drums with playful finesse on the debut self-titled album, a head-bopping mix of hard rock and hip-hop, fighting the curse, much like RATM did, that the two genres don't mix well.

Track one, "Fight! Smash! Win!," has an energetic, rollercoaster intro riff. The guitar playing transitions into muted strumming in the verse sections.

"100 Little Curses" has a definite RATM-reminiscent riff. What sounds like an informal choir provides backing vocals to Riley's rapping.

"The Oath" and "The Squeeze" are nearly the same song. Both have funky riffs. Think George Clinton meets Black Sabbath.

With a laid back riff, "Clap For The Killers" features a lot of room for each element to breathe. It's a refreshing technique that allows Riley's rap vocals to shine. The lead guitar breaks teleport around like the X-Men's Nightcrawler.

"Good Morning, Mrs. Smith" has a riff like a rumbling beast waiting to strike. And strike it does during the chorus section.

The guitar playing in "Megablast" has a slight '80s vibe. The verse sections have a fuzzed out, low-key rollercoaster riff.

"Promenade" has atmospheric texture in the background and is driven by funky bass chugging. The vocals pop front and center.

Maybe it's unfair to compare Street Sweeper Social Club to Rage Against The Machine but it's nearly unavoidable. The two groups mix rap and rock in nearly identical ways. The only difference is the frontman. Boots Riley delivers his lyrics expertly and with confidence. But one of the great things about RATM is and was that Zach De La Rocha's vocals were as angry and snarling as the funky, heavy, buzzsaw riffing of Tom Morello's guitar. Riley's rapping needs to be a little more aggressive to elicit as powerful an emotional response. But taken just by itself, the music these two have created provided an enjoyable and needed contrast to the rap-rock of Linkin Park and the reunited Limp Bizkit.