Black Lips - 200 Million Thousand (2009)

Black Lips is an American garage rock band from Atlanta, Georgia formed in 1999.

It's ironic when the Black Lips sing that they're "trapped in a basement" here. Ten years ago, this Atlanta band's purposefully sloppy "flower punk" would have been unjustly confined to basement shows; now it could fit in a Zach Braff film. The Lips' psychedelic and garage heroes loom large: "Big Black Baby Jesus of Today" sounds distractingly like the 13th Floor Elevators, and "Drugs" is all about the New York Dolls. This smart if self-conscious album makes it clear who the Lips would like to be, but it's hard to tell who they really are.