SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: BLACK LIPS – APOCALYPSE LOVE

Black Lips
Apocalypse Love
Fire Records

Musical maturity brings its own set of challenges, and avoiding the temptation to settle into a familiar sound is perhaps top of the list. Having hit their 10^th studio album, The Black Lips have got over their hurdle boldly and gracefully, challenging their audience in the process: Apocalypse Love is an exercise in the unexpected, which couples unusual sounds – from a theremin to a hearty brass section – with an out-of-left-field production and a whole array of peculiar lyrics.

New listeners might have an easier time with this record than old lovers of the band: if you were expecting the country-heavy atmosphere of Black Lips’ beginnings, Apocalypse Love may leave you feeling somewhat out of balance. Not that the country/bluegrass vibe is completely gone: where it resurfaces, however, it has become infused with something dreamy and vaguely hallucinatory. Check out “Tongue Tied” – one of the most intriguing tracks on the record – for an excellent example of this.

Elsewhere the mood of the record dabbles with psychedelia and post-punk, a nostalgic take on disco which evokes an image of East Germany as we perhaps only imagined it to be (stand-out single “No Rave” is a perfect instance on the latter) and some experimental deviations which may not have a name yet. A vague sense of disconnection might perhaps be the only flaw in a record that is otherwise to be praised for its daring and its inventiveness, one of the most intriguing listens of 2022.

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