Black Lips’ Arabia Mountain due out June 7
The songs are clean and catchy, and that only gives them the punch they need
Over the weekend, Vice Records sent out an e-mail blast announcing that Black Lips’ sixth proper album, due out June 7, will be titled Arabia Mountain.
Several weeks ago, I was invited to guitarist Cole Alexander’s house for a late-night listening session the day it was finished — we listened to it on a small boom box (with a $3 thrift store price tag on it) that sat on the floor next to the dog’s water bowl and crate.
At the time, the title for the album had not yet been decided, but they were kicking around a few names. Expensive was my favorite, but I guess they liked Arabia Mountain a little more. The songs we listened to had not yet been mastered, either, and when they played the Mark Ronson-produced numbers next to the stuff that they recorded on their own, the differences were apparent but not overbearing. What really made the record shine was the attention to the song writing itself.
There was vague mention of Lockett Pundt from Deerhunter working on the album, too, and he’s now credited for producing two songs, “Bicentennial Man” and “Go Out and Get It.” But the songs that left the strongest impressions on me include: “Noc-a-homa Cries” (which has since been shortened to just “Noc-a-homa”), “God Lived as a Devil Dog a God Dam Mad Devil Dog” (which has since been shortened to “Mad Dog”), “Dumpster Dive” and “Nude Erection,” but if you believe Vice’s press release, it’s now called “New Direction.”
Within the first few seconds of listening I found myself thinking that this is the record that should have come out after Good Bad Not Evil. The songs are fast and concise without losing the rough edges that define Black Lips’ sound.