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American flower-punks Black Lips are purists when it comes to scuzz, and Good Bad, Not Evil is a perfect tapestry of sordid pleasure.
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Good Bad Not Evil is the record where naysayers, disinterested friends and acquaintances, and anyone else within earshot has to sit up, shut up, and listen.
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Good Bad Not Evil isn't a major leap forward for the Black Lips, but it shows their sound is slowly but surely evolving, and they still rock with a nasty enthusiasm that's bold and compelling; this is quality stuff for your next black light party.
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Good Bad Not Evil covers a wide range of territory, but never feels needlessly eclectic. Every stylistic experiment employed over the 35-minute runtime is a welcome departure from their signature slime rock
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At just 35 minutes in total and with just one track exceeding the three minute mark, the record is a grotty mess of a quickie which nevertheless gets the job done.
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On the stylistically diverse Good Bad Not Evil, they confront many of the problems facing America today, taking short, sharp stabs at the Katrina disaster, neurotoxins destroying the upper middle class, juvenile delinquency, false prophets and an apocalyptic holy war.
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This is the Lips' fifth album and their slickest yet. It hurtles along with impressive momentum, its 13 songs each under three minutes long
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At times, it feels far too self-consciously hip; at others, the roughness of their songs is fantastically ready.
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The album marks the first time Black Lips’ unconscious bar anthems have sounded completely, well, developed.
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'O Katrina!' which kicks off like any lovesick Nuggets stomp, then drops the line "I can't believe what's on the TV screen." We're not hearing about a jilted girl anymore, but a jilted city. And before that can sink in, another wonderfully scuzzy guitar solo is on its way.
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Other than the crowd noise, you’d have a tough time distinguishing the two albums. This is a good thing, as applying studio sheen to the Black Lips’ primitive mix of acid-damaged psychedelia and beer-fueled garage rock would be akin to putting lipstick on an orangutan.
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The best songs on this album, including 'Vini Vidi Vici,' subvert the band's bravado without erasing it altogether.
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It might take a lot of effort to sound this effortless, but Good Bad Not Evil is a goofy pleasure.
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Under The RadarKiller album. [Fall 2007, p.78]
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There’s filler for sure, but with the 13 tracks being sleek as they are such fluff merely makes for a more rounded proposition.
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Good Bad, Not Evil delivers 13 testosterone-crazed grooves which mercifully give finicky revivalism the swerve, in favour of fuzz-frazzled sonics and lots of fun.
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MojoBlack Lips conjure not only the riffs of the early garage squallers, but their very spirit. [Dec 2007, p.108]
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UncutTheir fourth studio album combinds poignant odes to former drummer Ben Eberbaugh with a joyous refusal to take itself seriously. [Oct 2007, p.83]
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SpinIt's gleefully cheeky, but a little safe. [Oct 2007, p.96]
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Alternative PressLongtime Black Lips fans will notice a more polished production compared to past albums, but it also seems apparent that these boys have barely begun to scratch the surface when it comes to showing us what they've made of. [Nov 2007, p.170]
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Q MagazineEntertaining in the flesh maybe, but a considerably less engaging proposition on record. [Jan 2008, p.105]
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Parts of Good Bad Not Evil have some fascinating sonic touches.
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The album's moments of schticky nonsense ('How Do You Tell A Child Someone Has Died,' 'Transcendental Light') are tiresome, but they’re surrounded by such good rock songs that they wind up being equally rewarding.
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It's easier to marvel at, than relate to, something like 'How Do You Tell a Child,' a country song about explaining death to a youngster. The same goes for 'Katrina.'
User score distribution:
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Positive: 16 out of 17
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Mixed: 0 out of 17
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Negative: 1 out of 17
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WesselK.Oct 5, 2007
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MarkROct 13, 2007Absolutely great and quite funny....great if your into the genre
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JohnnyT.Oct 8, 2007