Black Lipstick - Sincerely
Label: Peek-A-Boo Records
Style: Garage Rock, Indie, Classic Punk, Rock
Released: 2005
My Grade: 3.5 stars
AMG: n/a
Sounds like: The Velvet Underground, The Damned, Television, The Fall


In the present world of highly stylized artists claiming to be the revival of 70s garage rock it is hard not to be disenchanted and overcome with grief over the death of rock’n’roll; but at the moment when all hope seems lost, there is a glimmer, a band that leads the charge back to the roots. You could call Black Lipstick the slacker brother that the Velvet Underground forgot, whirling around in a foggy haze of sounds vs. noise and never really understanding what anybody is talking about.

This is their debut full length, full of snotty riffs and the sparkle that exists solely for rock’n’roll’s sake. Tracks like “Grandma Airplane” and “B.O.B. F.O.S.S.E.” churn up pulsing bass lines and shouting choruses, all the while maintaining gritty monotone vocals. Each song on the album will make you reevaluate music in the present tense, is this modern rock or a kickback to the 60s and 70s heydays of experimentalism.

This kind of music feels trashy, aged over countless beers and nights alone; Adding fuel to the already burgeoning feel of decadence. This band may not be as cool as The Velvet Underground, or as hip as Television, but their debut album shows that glimmer of something spectacular.

So get out there already, buy the album and blast it to the world while you drive down a desert highway; this is rock and roll.

Reviewed by: Samuel Aaron