“This is a song I wrote about a G.I. Joe doll, code-named Rumbler, that I am almost certain is based on my great uncle and war hero Bobby Earl Swilley. The cadence of the song is kind of based on a bear hunting poem that my granddaddy, Bobby Earl’s brother, used to recite to me. This is an ode to my elders.” Jared Swilley
Consequence Of Sound and the origins of ‘Rumbler’: https://consequenceofsound.
Atlanta underground rock provocateurs Black Lips reveal video for new single ‘Rumbler’ from their new album ‘Sing In A World That’s Falling Apart’.
Boasting an unapologetic southern-fried twang, the twelve track collection marks the quintet’s most pronounced dalliance with country music yet, with a clang and harmony that is unmistakably the inimitable sound and feel of the Black Lips. While the songcraft and playing is more sophisticated, Black Lips were determined to return to the raw sound roots that marked their early efforts. Recorded and co-produced with Nic Jodoin at Laurel Canyon’s legendary, newly reopened Valentine Recording Studios (which played host to Beach Boys and Bing Crosby before shuttering in 1979) without Pro-Tools and other contemporary technology, the band banged the album out directly to tape quickly and cheaply, resulting in their grimiest, most dangerous, and best collection of songs since the aughts.
The band’s stylistic evolution and matured approach to musicianship and writing is, in part, due to the seismic line-up shifts they have undergone over the last half decade. Worn down after a decade of prolific touring and recording, longtime guitarist Ian St Pé left the group in 2014, followed shortly thereafter by original drummer Joe Bradley. Jeweller/actress (and now Gucci muse) Zumi Rosow, whose sax skronk, flamboyant style, and wild stage presence had augmented the team before the duo’s departure, assumed a bigger writing and performance role in their absence. Soon drummer Oakley Munson from The Witnesses brought a new backbeat and unique backing vocal harmony into the fold. Last year the quintet was rounded out by guitarist Jeff Clarke of Demon’s Claws. The newly forged partnership, all of whom collaborate as songwriters, vocalists, and instrumentalists, has breathed new life into their sound. The result is akin to the radiance of the impulsive, wild nights where you find yourself two-stepping into the unknown.
‘Sing In A World That’s Falling Apart’ is released 24th January via Fire Records/Vice on limited edition red vinyl with die cut sleeve, standard LP and CD.
“What Black Lips do so well is tease the horror out of wholesomeness and recast golden-age rock’n’roll in a strange, discomforting light” Pitchfork
EU live dates
28 Mar: Fuzzville 2020, Benidorm, Spain
30 Mar: Petit Bain, Paris, France
Album pre-order: https://fire-records.lnk.to/
Fire Records
