Arabia Mountain

Black Lips | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 7, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2011
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Vice Records
• ASIN: B004XIQL94
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #46,544 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Founding fathers of Atlanta's "flower punk" movement the Black Lips release Arabia Mountain, their sixth full-length album, June 7th 2011 on longtime label Vice. Arabia Mountain was recorded between Brooklyn and Atlanta over the last few months of 2010 with the collaborative assistance of celebrated DJ and producer Mark Ronson, Lockett Pundt of Deerhunter, and a human skull with a microphone jammed into it.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Something of a Rebirth August 1, 2011

By Gregory William Locke

Format:Audio CD

Truth be told, I thought the Black Lips were done. Over 12 or so years the band released a number of solid garage rock records, hitting their peak with 2007's Good Bad Not Evil. That record, which positioned them at the front of the current noisy garage trend, was followed by 2009's much anticipated 200 Million Thousand. And while most fans and writers seemed to dig 200 Million upon its release, you rarely heard anyone mention - let alone play - that album a month or so after its initial release. The Lips had, it seemed, run out of corners in their garage, and were thus caught stretching to continue to do new, interesting things within the confines of their limiting palate. There's really only so much you can do, they say, when you play poppy garage rock: you can turn it up; you can make it messier; you can rip off another garage rock band that sounds two percent different than the one you were ripping off before; you can die young.

Arabia Mountain, the band's sixth studio album since their 2003 debut, is a rebirth of sorts. Produced by hotshot Mark Ronson (Amy Winehouse, Duran Duran, Richard Swift, etc.), the sound here mixes the cleaned-up vibe of Good Bad Not Evil with the Black Lips' earlier, messier work to brilliant results. Boasting a production value and sound that at once resembles both The Sonics and early-era Kinks, Arabia Mountain's 16 songs pass quickly and with variety. The punk-influenced vocal style of Cole Alexander is still up front (probably more than ever), and here and there he loudly embraces his "bratty kid" voice for entire songs at a time. Track three, "Spidey's Curse, a song about Spider-Man being molested as a boy, is Cole at his most lovable and accessible while "Raw Meat" feels as much like a classic-era Ramones track as anything we've heard since Joey passed on 10 years ago now. Tracks like "The Lie" and "You Keep On Running" see the Lips taking their influence from more psychedelic bands like The Small Faces, The 13th Floor Elevators and selected Byrds. And it works, even if it's not quite what I personally prefer to hear from this crew of rowdy misfits.

At their best on cuts like opener "Family Tree" and "Bicentennial Man," the Lips dig their way through the best sounds of the 60s on Arabia Mountain, never hiding behind production choices or garage cliches. For the first time in their already lengthy - and incredibly busy - career, this quartet has finally put up a complete work to be taken seriously by music fans. There's variety and cohesion here that no one expected from a band that was, before now, known more as pleasantly sloppy noisemakers than as nostalgic album-makers. Make no mistake, with Arabia Mountain Atlanta's Black Lips prove once and for all that they're the real deal. Rather than hide behind kitsch-y style and punk-rock poseur moves, they've whipped up a highly satisfying batch of songs that pays tribute to the 60s in a fun, youthful way. One of the best records of 2011, easily.

Check out more of my music- and film-related writing at ZeCatalist.com.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected June 21, 2011

By Kyle McClain

Format:Audio CD

I'm a huge Black Lips fan. I've been following their music for years now and never expected an album like this. It took me about a week of listening to it to appreciate it. I would never go so far as to say it's their best album. It's not rough enough, loud enough, aggressive enough, but it's different. I'd like to disagree with the other post saying it's better than their last album. If you really enjoy the Black Lips, 200 Million Thousand was them taking a step back into their roots. This album is going a new direction. A more "let's go party and have a fun time" direction. I support it 100%. You gotta change.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A new direction for their best album yet January 10, 2012

By Ryan Estabrooks

Format:Audio CD

(Taken from my blog at http://ryanestabrooks.com)

Known for being messy, reckless individuals, many were afraid that the Black Lips would clean up their act with this record, seeing as it's produced by pop-gloss-master Mark Ronson. But although there is a bit of a cleaner sound, it's still inherently messy. By scraping a bit of the fuzz from the tone, the songwriting is showcased at the forefront, which could be a problem when taking a look at some of their previous cuts.

Miraculously though, the Black Lips leveled up in this department. Their songwriting is snarkier, leaner, and meaner then they have been in a while. Although I loved "200 Million Thousand" for its basement murkiness and questionable ethics, I'll be the first to admit that it's a bit muddled and one-note. Here they show considerable range but their ear for melodies has simply matured with their musical phrases turning into unexpected earworms. This album is definitely more pop than they have ever been but somehow, it allows them to shine like never before.