We Did Not Know the Forest Spirit Made the Flowers Grow

Black Lips' second LP, 2004's WE DID NOT KNOW THE FOREST SPIRIT MADE THE FLOWERS GROW, was an evolution of their aggressively primitive garage punk into recognizable song forms without sacrificing their originally savage approach. "Dawn of the Age of Tomorrow" is late-night electric blues slowed down and warped; the busted organ stomp of "Notown Blues" sounds like the rehearsal tapes of a long-forgotten 1968 high school prom act. Subsequent releases showed the Lips refining their music over the long haul, but they came closest to pure, threatening caveman rock & roll right here.