SXSW 2014 Records

Black Lips

With 2011's Arabia Mountain, Black Lips signaled the second phase of their decade-long career, tightening up their shambolic garage sound with producer Mark Ronson. The Atlanta quartet's latest keeps that focus, but returns to more raucous roots. Backed by Budos Band and Dap Kings' Tom Brenneck, and produced by the Black Keys' Patrick Carney, the band somehow remains degenerately disheveled and brilliantly bombastic in a way that belies their tightness. One stripped-down cop car anthem gleefully declares "yesterday we went too far," while "Waiting" celebrates the juvenile delinquency of wrecking the classroom. A throwback to the Sixties vibe of the Seeds on opener "Drive-By Buddy" sets the tone for the gonzo racket of "I Don't Wanna Go Home" and scuzzed raw rhythm of "Dandelion Dust." Professed Skynyrd ode "Boys in the Wood," meanwhile, cuts Southern guitar with banshee backing vocals. High-water mark for a down and dirty band. (5pm, the Gatsby)