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Review:
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Most music geeks have an internal list of exciting records
labels. You know what I mean, the entire roster is solid and
every release is greeted with some anticipation. For me, those
labels include one usual suspect (Merge)
as well as several local (or semi-local) ones (2Sheds,
Moodswing,
and Backburner). And then there's one other label that always
impresses me, Austin Texas's Peek-a-boo Records. The home of
some great bands (including The
Kiss Offs, FiveHead, and The Wontons), their releases are
always entertaining and interesting. So even when I haven't
heard of the bands behind their latest releases, I try to go
out of my way to pick up the CDs.
For this reason alone, I went out and bought the debut EP by
Black Lipstick. I hadn't heard any of the music; I've never
seen them live. I knew nothing about them. But they were on
Peek-a-boo, and that's good enough for me. Of course I shouldn't
have worried. As it turns out, Black Lipstick are a four piece
Austin band with the two singer/guitarists from The Kiss Offs
(Travis Higdon and Phillip Niemeyer) joined vocally by drummer
Elizabeth Nottingham. The bassist has apparently changed between
the May 2001 recording and their current live incarnation.
From the first notes of Four Kingdoms of Black Lipstick,
I was impressed. The first song, White Jazz, borrows
a guitar riff from the Velvet Underground's Waiting For the
Man, but adds a touch of mellow piano and fuzzed out distortion
to the mix. At the same time, the vocal line is more melodic
and accessible than most of Lou Reed's early music. Similarly,
the next song, Cat Piss Blues, recalls the rough petulance
of Beggar's Banquet-era Rolling Stones, although
the lyrical references place the music firmly in more recent
times.
However, it's on the third song that Black Lipstick as a band
really hit their stride. W.W.D.Y.D still has the underlying
tone of the 60's garage greats, only this time, the piano line
is stronger and the drumming carries the insistently mid-ranged
pace. The guitars fade to the background while the male/female
vocal interplay comes to the front, propelling the lyrical narrative
of romantic confusion. It ends in a too quick 3 minutes, leaving
me longing for more.
The next song begins with a return to the homage of the first
two songs. Only this time, the bass propels the song into an
occasional guitar breakdown that I'm sure reminds some people
of Television, or perhaps The Modern Lovers. Likewise, the final
and fifth song of the EP, Our Gilded Thrones, apparently
continues in the same vein with the jangly guitars and half
shouted vocals. But just when you think you've got a handle
on everything, the music fades towards the end of the song and
the band slows down the original melody into a beautiful shoegazer
instrumental. It's a glorious ending that demonstrates that
this band is more than just some garage rock revival phenomenon.
And I'm left to conclude that Peek-a-Boo Records has done it
again, releasing another strong record from another strong band.
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