RIYL: Sonic Youth, Jay Reatard, Pixies, The Rolling Stones
Forget the music. The Wiki for Black Lips is a punk-rock masterpiece all by itself. It mostly forgoes talk of accolades to focus on tales of debauchery that call to mind a binge drinking Ozzy Osbourne in his heyday. Their live show have at one time or another featured vomiting, a chicken, flaming guitars, and urination, not necessarily in that order. They once had to flee India, which has laws against homosexuality, after two of the guys kissed mid-show and “some weiners got pulled out.” Classy they are not.
Their 6th long-player Arabia Mountain, was released last summer and features 16 frenetic tracks of punk-rock which at times veers towards something resembling pop. Screamy choruses and solid rock riffs anchor a lot of the offers here, but there’s a generic viagra professional surprising gentleness to some tracks that gives the album more depth than your typical mosh pit. The band likes to claim the genre “flower punk”, though I’m not really sure where the flowers come in.
With production by Mark Ronson and positive press in a number of music mags, Arabia Mountain was a coming out party of sorts. A lot of the tunes are great, but the one big drawback is that some of them are hard to differentiate. Preferring Track 7, “Go Out and Get It”, to Track 8 “Raw Meat” (or “Bone Marrow” for that matter) would be a purely arbitrary event.
What’s most thrilling about this album is how Black Lips are able to capture the vibe of the 60’s and 70’s Rolling Stones without making it feel like cheap emulation. “The Lie” and “Time” both make excellent use of tight rhythm and roughshod guitar to eerily channel Jagger and Richards, and “Dumpster Dive” could pass for an outtake from Exile on Main Street.
For reasons that are somewhat difficult to express, its heartening to see a young punk band that takes their irreverence so seriously. The Stones didn’t conquer all of mankind in a day, but those with keen ears could tell early on that they had something important to say. I get the same feeling from Black Lips.
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For More Information Visit:
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http://www.black-lips.com
http://www.vicerecords.com
