Black Lipstick don't just nod to their influences, they bow. White Light/White Heat is an obvious inspiration for the shambling drums and gritty, basic blues riffs on Sincerely, Black Lipstick, but there's also a hint of peak-era Rolling Stones. On opening track "B.O.B F.O.S.S.E.", clean lead guitar melodies overlap with crunchy rhythm chords; it's both a throbbing blues vamp and an astonishing imitation of the Stones' tense pop classics. The trouble is, while the Velvet Underground were living their socially irresponsible lyrics-- and the Stones were at least convincing people they were-- Black Lipstick have a long way to go in the believability department.
Much of this falls on vocalist Philip Neimeyer, who's doesn't have much range but compensates with clever lyrics and interplay between other vocalists, such as drummer Elizabeth Nottingham. His self-consciously decadent lyrics sound appropriate when sung in a Lou Reed monotone, but he has a hard time belting it out. "Over the nation/ All the haters/ Bow to thee" sung in a resigned mumble sounds about right, but underlining lines from "B.O.B.F.O.S.S.E." like "If the world's a stage/ Then the whole damn world should bow to us" with gusto is something Neimeyer can't pull off.
Maybe because the band sounds so impossibly bored, melancholy suits it better than boastfulness. When things slow down, as they do on "Grandma Airplane", Black Lipstick manage to sounds even more lethargic than the Strokes; right down to the octave guitar solo, that band is a better reference point than Television or VU. "Throw Some Money at it" is a minor-key mid-tempo rocker that, like nearly every track here, ends in a Sonic Youth-esque breakdown of interweaving guitars and steady rhythm. These shifts in structure are proof that Black Lipstick have records at home dating past 1970, and their indie rock touch distances them from formulaic hero-worship. It sounds most captivating on "Throw Some Money", twisting and repeating its simple theme to a gradual crescendo. "Viva Max" and "..." are other somber highlights that navigate the line between disaffected and bored like expert cartographers.
Black Lipstick's brand of revivalism is an oddity: Their sound is blatantly derivative, yet they sound the least excited to be playing in that style. Of the bands compared to the Velvet Underground, success often lies in the ability to seem energetic and enthusiastic about the rampant pillaging of the past. Black Lipstick have gone the complete opposite route, which is either really clever, or a complete cop out.
