With an affection for their hometown of Atlanta and its down-home
constituents, the rowdy boys who make up THE Black Lips also have
the travel bug — bad. They’ve played a show in every continent,
except for Antarctica, but that’s on the bucket list. Transporting
their sound from the comfortable womb of garages, basements, and
other typical dwellings of their punk predecessors, the foursome
have expanded their horizons with bold, fearless travel, creating
their elaborate nexus of rock.
More like family than bandmates, the Black Lips have grown up
together, both musically and personally, employing a learn-on-thejob technique that was made possible by the group’s dynamic — and
it has paid off. Their eighth studio album since 2005, last year’s
Underneath The Rainbow is easily their best yet, combining darkly
energetic rhythms with haunting, serial-killer pop. Even when it’s
densely layered, their newest stuff also goes back to basics on
some tracks, such as the tambourine-infused “Make You Mine.” You
almost have to wonder if they play the bouncy pop rock single with
a hint of irony, especially when compared with the ominous “Boys in
The Wood” and accompanying music video that’ll chill you for days.
Don’t overthink it though — as the band will tell you, their brand
of rock ’n’ roll is universal, which has made it possible to
connect to punks or recent converts on a global scale. In years
past this sometimes took just one fan from any given country to
suggest that they play there, to which they generally figured,
“why not?” For the group, especially before they had someone else to
handle booking, it was just about getting there, and the details would
come later. More often than not, though, they are received with open
arms, by kids who in some cases have never seen a rock show before.
We caught up with bassist Jared Swilley and lead singer/guitarist
Cole Alexander to learn about culture shock, packing for long
trips, and growing up with the band.
CULTURE COLLIDE . 69