cwas#13 / cwas#12 / cwas#11 / cwas#9 / cwas#8 / cwas#7
cwas#6 / cwas#4 / all reviews / search

"When the winners of the world have kicked the shit out of you / We can kick the shit back in." Austin Texas' Black Lipstick are here to save all shit-kicked kind, and the moment the skewed Pavementesque riffs of opening track Voodoo Economics slant in you'll know you are indeed in need of saving too. Black Lipstick may be seen by some as just another Television, Velvet Underground, maybe even The Fall, wannabes but Phillip Niemeyers deadpan delivery of his subtly witty lyrics on this debut are more than refreshing. It's fair to say Niemeyer hasn't been blessed with a the tonal range of Charlotte Church, but guitarist, Travis Higdon and drummer, Elizabeth Nottingham are on hand to add an extra vocal dimension where necessary, (including in the simple rockalong Corporate Happy Hour, sung by Higdon alone). The album breezes from brittle, twisted pop to shimmering rock. Even Sonic Youth lines are breached in the nine-minute mini-epic Texas Woman where Niemeyer repeatedly tells the listener, "I know a good thing when I've found it." Finally, they leave you cracking up with a bonus track called, wait for it, that's right Bonus Tracks - you guys. 'Converted Thieves' is infectious cynicism at it's finest and an ocean apart from the band's contemporaries. "We can uplift you higher, right up to the sky" they promise and "like a fuckin' elevator, right up to the sky" we go.

John Gilsenan
CWAS #13 - Autumn 2003

back