 Black Lips -200 Million Thousand 24 Feb 2009 Vice Records Review by Rachel Coppenhaver  Self-described 'flower-punk' band. An energetic mess of music. Crazy live shows. Lots of things come to mind when thinking about Atlanta, GA's Black Lips. On their newest album 200 Million Thousand, the Black Lips continue doing what they have done on all their albums -- which is basically whatever they what. They throw together music that has influences from everything under the sun with a raw unpolished sound that might remind you of the annoying kids down the street that try to rock out in their garage. But after listening closer, you realize that these guys actually are pretty good despite their chaotic, amateurish vibe. Recorded in a former art gallery in Georgia last summer, this fifteen track album (plus hidden track) shows that the band just can't seem to keep focus long enough to stick with one style or genre of music. So, they bounce all over the place and mix them up and often seem to know what they are doing long enough to make it work. "Take My Heart" opens the album with grungy garage rock followed by "Drugs" which has a catchy beat that you can't help but want to dance to. "Drugs" is one of the best on the album as the band invites you to "Come along and take a ride with me/I'll make some space in my dirty back seat". Some of the bigger experiments on the album are met with limited success. "Drop I Hold" has guitarist Cole Alexander somewhat rapping to the tune of a country song, while "Trapped in a Basement" is almost spoken for most of the song and also has cheesy manic laughter in the background. The Black Lips are much better with tracks like "Short Fuse" that are full of enthusiam and make you want to go out and party with them. And with a reputation of concerts that have included nudity, band members kissing, and Power Wheel races (along with some grosser incidents including urination and vomiting), who wouldn't want to go see them live even if some of the songs are misses? You could be witnessing the show everyone will be talking about this year. Catch the Black Lips on tour throughout the U.S. this Spring. Dates can be found on their MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/theblacklips) as well as their Official Site (www.black-lips.com). Check out the video for "Short Fuse" here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkwQCxO27iQ&eurl=http://black-lips.com/items/view/206/black-lips-short-fuse-official-video&feature=player_embedded |