Black Lips - '200 Million Thousand' (Vice) Released 16/03/09

Worse is to come however on 'Let It Grow' and 'Trapped In A Basement', the latter of which pretty much sums up how the listener feels at the cat wailing and badly tuned instrumentation on display: trapped. Things do pick up however. 'Short Fuse' is poppy and upbeat with a charming, slick melody whilst 'I'l Be With You' passes a resemblance to The Kinks 'Waterloo Sunset'. 'Again and Again' is a call and response album highlight showing that when Black Lips are good they can be very good it's just that what they do can so easily veer into a muddy ditch when it needs to remain stylishly dirty at most.

As the album ends with two minutes of silence followed by five of shrieking, clattering and feedback you feel every right to be somewhat aggrieved. In many ways a band like Black Lips have to be as controlled, if not more, than a band renowned for precision. Music as charmingly ramshackle and lo-fi as this only works if it remains upright and cohesive. Far too often '200 Million Thousand' sounds like the work of a band content to rest on their laurels and experiment to the point of frustration. Hopefully this will be a small blip on an otherwise exemplary discography.