Atlanta, Georgia – the birthplace of Black Lips, one of the world’s most audacious purveyors of rock’n’roll as it was truly intended. Handlebar moustaches, leather jackets and enough sweat to raise world water level all included. The Black Lips are renowned for cementing the Atlanta music scene in the early 00s, along with the likes of Deerhunter, The Lids and The Coathangers. It’s a scene well documented within We Fun, the real story of 21st century musical debauchery. 

Since those early days circa We Did Not Know The Forest Spirit Made The Flowers Grow and the self-titled Black Lips debut, Jared Swilley and Cole Alexander have shape-shifted the band through various incarnations and, in the process, attempted to brush down their sound somewhat. The wickedly underrated 2014 album Underneath The Rainbow showed the first signs of this technical change, even enlisting Mark Ronson on production duties. The outcome provided clarity to a sound that occasionally warbled on the inaudible whilst retaining a punk spirit – just listen to ‘Justice After All’ for the finest example.

Satan’s Graffiti Or God’s Art? cuts this new cleanliness but lurches back to their dusty, husky grime a little more. It’s certainly a little less polished, and it’s hard to figure if this is overly intentional and a little try-hard but with tracks like current single ‘Can’t Hold On’ – who the fuck cares? Certainly not the Black Lips. It’s bold to release a double album in 2017, the year of skipping through Spotify tracks to pinpoint favourites but nevertheless, the Black Lips have done it. It arrives with its successes and flaws though, a careful tightrope walk through the captivating and the nonchalant. Attention at the front end of the album draws towards the likes of ‘Occidental Front’ with it rumbling rock’n’roll and ostentatious buzzsaw guitar – horribly obnoxious but trademark Black Lips – and the slightly slower blues jam of ‘The Last Cul de Sac’.

‘Crystal Night’ is a methodical affair by Black Lips standards, complete with acoustic guitar (!) and reflective lyrics. A sumptuous take on lonesome country blues, showing that Black Lips can maneuver nicely through their whirlwind of chaos at times. ‘Squatting In Heaven’ brings a thicker sound than previous Black Lips material, resting upon the new addition of permanent saxophonist, Zumi Rosow.

The new incarnation of Black Lips shifts the formation completely, moving to become a five-piece and switching three members around. This plays into the story of the band a little more, establishing them more so as a cult band, devoid (perhaps fortunately) of the mainstream success they were trying to steer for on the Patrick Carney and Ronson featuring Underneath The Rainbow. Their new attitude though puts two fingers up at the success they may have aimed for, hence the grandeur of a double album. It brings its faults though in length and sustainability. The wobbly ‘Rebel Intuition’ brings nothing new to the table, feeling like a watered down version of early-Black Lips as does ‘We Know’ – a poor man’s take on ‘Veni Vidi Vici’. So is this Black Lips trying to relive their own past?

Where they better themselves in the latter part of the album is where they embrace their cleaner cut and take their sound in new directions. ‘In My Mind There’s A Dream’ is a Southern drawl take on The Moonlandingz, complete with the sleaze and space station keys, ‘Come Ride With Me’ stands closer to their psychedelic tree and ‘Loser’s Lament’ is a chirpy, perhaps tongue-firmly-in-cheek kick at a country jam.

With Satan’s Graffiti Or God’s Art?, the Black Lips prove an identity crisis, half caught in the past and half caught trying to lay the paving for their future. Their fuck off to popularity earns them cult kudos, of course, but where they lose their way is when they wander too far down nostalgia lane, picking at sounds that worked previously. Perhaps their resorting to unrefined textures is in part due Jared Swilley and Cole Alexander trying to find a piece of themselves in a band that is nearly all new. Nevertheless, the eighth Black Lips record is a success when it moves forward and embraces this new fidelity, whether rock’n’roll, garage-rock or psychedelia.
Tom Churchill

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theblacklips
Twitter: https://twitter.com/theblacklips