The Black Lips - The Black Lips [LP]

Tracklist

Throw It Away    
Freakout    
Ain't No Deal    
Stone Cold    
I've Got A Knife    
Down And Out    
Steps    
Fad    
Sweet Kin    
Crazy Girl    
Everybody Loves A Cocksucker    
Can't Bring Me Down    
You're Dumb    
Say Hello To The Postman

This Atlanta quartet spins out the sort of ragged, blues-edged garage rock that brings to mind the early line-ups of 1980s revivalists like The Salvation Army, The Chesterfield Kings and The Lyres. But in the case of The Black Lips, two decades further removed from the mid-60s garage and roughed up by the sterility of 90s pop music, their sound is even rougher, with less focus on '60s style and more concentration of raw, adrenal playing.
Vocalist Cole Alexander sings in a hyperactive, rusty growl that's exaggerated by a tinny microphone, studio distortion, and the band's underlying thrash of guitars, bass and drums. At times the songs spiral into chaos (much like their live shows are reported to do), but the reverb-soaked blues "Stone Cold" settles down for a slow-motion examination.

Rough and raw. Original yet familiar--influenced with early blues, early rock with he pure essence of punk--difficult to believe these guys weren't even born until the 1980s. A must-buy for a serious music collector.