Photos of Black Lips at 2019 Shaky Knees in Atlanta, GA
Photos of Black Lips at Hard Rock Cafe in Chicago, IL on August 5th, 2017
Photos of Black Lips at 2016 80/35 Festival in Des Moines, IA
Photos of Black Lips at 2015 Air + Style in Los Angeles, CA
Photos of Black Lips at 2014 Meltasia Festival in Lafayette, GA
Photos of Black Lips at 2014 Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, TX
Photos of Black Lips at Red 7 in Austin, TX on September 12th, 2014
Photos of Black Lips at 2014 Superuho Festival in Sibenik, Croatia
QRO’s review of Black Lips at House of Vans in Brooklyn, NY on July 3rd, 2014
Photos of Black Lips at 2014 Austin Psych Fest in Austin, TX
Photos of Black Lips at SXSW 2014 in Austin, TX
Photos of Black Lips at 2012 Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, TX
Photos of Black Lips at 2012 Osheaga Music Festival in Montreal, PQ, Canada
Photos of Black Lips at 2012 Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona, Spain
Photos of Black Lips at 2011 Pacific Festival in Silverado, CA
Photos of Black Lips at Logan Square Auditorium in Chicago, IL on April 22nd, 2011
The Black Lips might be one of the biggest, or at least most important, bands in the party-garage movement of this century/millennium, but in addition to their wild live shows (QRO live review) that’s also included middling-at-best records, which give you the garage-rock you’ve already heard before a million other places. That hit its nadir with 2011’s Arabia Mountain (QRO review), an album with barely a highlight. Yet for latest Underneath the Rainbow, while Black Lips don’t scale heights, they swap the party-garage for country-ditties that definitely work better on your stereo than what had come before.
QRO’s review of Black Lips at Williamsburg Waterfront in Brooklyn, NY, on July 26th, 2009
Photos of Black Lips at 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival at Union Park in Chicago, IL
Photos of Black Lips at McCarren Park Pool in Brooklyn, NY on August 3rd, 2008
Photos of Black Lips at 2007 Siren Music Festival on Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY
Starting with the up-down twang-trot of opener “Drive-By Buddy”, Underneath is focused not on sloppy lo-fi rock but catchy lo-fi country(-rock). The backbeats are quite enjoyable, and if the Black Lips don’t add a lot more, well, it ain’t exactly broke. The songs (which are not in anyway ‘new country’, FYI) do tend to run together, but in a nice way, like different scenery on a single horse ride. There’s the dirty ditty “Funny”, the slow grit “Boys In the Wood”, and even a more skilled party-garage closer “Dog Years”.
No, Black Lips don’t reinvent the wheel on Underneath the Rainbow, but they do shift to making a better already-invented wheel. What’s more, and what’s still most important, is that you know the songs will be incredibly fun live.
