The Black Lips: "Modern Art"

When exactly did the Black Lips turn into a top 40 band from 1998? As much as I encouraged the thought to leave my mind, all I could think as I listened to “Modern Art,” the new track from the forthcoming Arabia Mountain was…Smash Mouth. Yes, that grating radio band of yesteryear that brought us such grocery store music as “Walking on the Sun” and “All Star.” Black Lips fans out there may think I’m crazy, but trust me: once you hear the Smash Mouth in “Modern Art,” you can’t un-hear it. While the verses still remind me of the band who made blissful mayhem with 2007’s Good Bad Not Evil, there’s something overcooked about the chorus; it’s too singsongy, too chintzy, too perky. And that’s a whole lotta too for a super-short track with three refrains.

The Atlanta-based Black Lips are certainly capable of clever, fun punk-garage-country fusion, as evidenced by Good Bad Not Evil standouts “O Katrina” and “Bad Kids.” But “Modern Art” offers a diluted version of this style, and the lyrics are also dulled-down a bit, as evidenced by lines like “Let’s go out and find the ocean / ‘Cause I think we need a swim / Turn around, start it over / Let’s begin.” There’s hope, however, in the fact that the band still exudes their trademark bratty energy, particularly on the song’s short, thumping final verse.

I’m not sure what exactly is happening to the Black Lips, if anything—perhaps it’s not that their sound or shtick has changed, but I’ve just grown weary of it. I’m tempted to blame Mark Ronson, producer of Arabia Mountain, whose predilection for stupid hats and celebrity soirees has never endeared him to me. And knee-jerk reactions aside, can a man who’s famous for working with Lilly Allen, Amy Winehouse, and Christina Aguilera possibly do right by a group of dirty weirdos like the Black Lips? “Modern Art” would indicate no. Let’s hope the rest of Arabia Mountain proves me wrong, and that I never again have to utter the words “Smash Mouth” on CMG.