One of the members of
the Black Lips enthusiastically announces, "This is going to be the best live record of all time!" before the band launches into "Not a Problem" on
Los Valientes del Mundo Nuevo, and from a conceptual standpoint this disc would seem to have real possibilities. For this live set (if the liner notes are to be believed),
the Black Lips opted to record a gig in one of the world's great centers of debauchery -- Tijuana, Mexico -- and hired a mariachi band to open the show. A drunken and audibly enthusiastic audience packed the joint, hookers performed lewd acts while the band wailed on-stage, and a splendid time was had by all capable of remembering the evening. While the performances on
Los Valientes del Mundo Nuevo (or, "The Brave Ones of the New World") sometimes sound suspiciously coherent for a real live recording (especially given the frantic circumstances they claim for the evening), the band's dirty, primitive take on blues-infused garage rock sounds fine indeed, and though these performances are a few notches shy of "tight,"
the Black Lips sound just as together as they wanna be here. However, two-thirds of the songs here already appeared on the band's previous studio set, 2005's
Let It Bloom, so you don't have to be an especially loyal fan to be familiar with the material, and as over-the-top as the best stuff is on this disc, the approach isn't radically different from their studio recordings. But judging from the crowd noises, a bunch of folks were having a hell of a good time while the tapes rolled for
Los Valientes del Mundo Nuevo, and anyone who digs their
Fall-meets-
Trashmen vibe will doubtless feel the same way while listening to this album, though some potent beverages (or under the counter medications) are advised to help re-create the experience. ~ Mark Deming