Sing in a World That's Falling Apart

Album review

The ninth studio album from the turbulent youngsters of The Black Lips, Sing in a World That’s Falling Apart has been labelled as a country music record. At first glance, there shouldn’t be anything surprising about this categorisation, geographically at least, as the band is from the American state of Georgia. What’s more surprising is the fact that until now The Black Lips had specialised in garage rock - which could lead you to believe that this album could be infused with a certain amount of irony. Is this a bit of a joke, thought up by musicians that are often perceived as being bad boys that are difficult to tame? After listening to tracks like Hooker Jon, Chainsaw, Gentleman or Rumbler, it seems that the traditions of country music are instead considered with respect and artfully honoured, with plenty of harmonicas, slide guitars and hollered choruses. Yet in other songs, the tasseled shirts are put aside in favour of what the band members have christened ‘flower punk’, which is essentially a joyous assortment of instruments which are purposefully badly tuned. Case in point: Dishonest Man, and especially Angola Rodeo with its piano and hectic saxophones. The Black Lips have thus chosen a musical genre which is rather uplifting and optimistic, in order to indeed Sing in a World That’s Falling Apart. For them, it’s a way to highlight the importance of a good mood in the face of the world’s ambient slump. © Nicolas Magenham/Qobuz