Black Lips — Los Valientes Del Mundo Nuevo

Black Lips have done the unthinkable on their Vice debut — they recorded it live at a Tijuana bar. More surprising is that it works. The frenetic atmosphere of the show is a perfect sounding board for the band's shambolic trademark punk. The choppy riffs and guttural vocals on "Stranger" sound like something off a 101ers demo, while the disembodied voice and surrealist lyrics on "Not A Stranger" could hold their own alongside any early Stooges track. Los Valientes proves Black Lips are tight on stage. Their biggest challenge will come later this year, when they ready a proper full-length studio album and show us if they can maintain the spontaneity that makes this far-from-polished LP so catastrophically appealing.

Get it from