Black Lips - 200 Million Thousand

Black Lips aren’t one of those bands afraid to wear their influences on their sleeve. The boys seem to get their kicks from fuzzed-out garage rock, sloppy punk and 50s and 60s pop, and they’re not ashamed to admit it. On their previous effort, Good Bad Not Evil, the latter crept through the former, creating a great synthesis and a perfect primer for the band. On 200 Million Thousand, however, this vein is harder to tap. Drugs sets the tone right for a continuation of bouncy fuzz-pop with its teen-at-the-drive-in feel, but the record loses steam around the midsection, trading pop sensibilities for a psychedelic haze. Not ones to eschew experimentation, the third act turns things around by slapping the bizarre but loveable hip-hop track The Drop I Hold on the listener. This, along with latecomers Elijah and I Saw God see the Lips return to form, creating strangely magnetic dirty pop. [Jason Morton]