The Lips Are Back existed from 1978-81 in the rural Michigan village of Battle Creek. Main Lip, John Rank Confusion Conley, hailed from the Detroit area but was pursuing an engineering degree at Kellogg College. TLAB played throughout the state but primarily in and around the first wave Detroit punk scene. Unlike the terminal zilches with which they shared bills, the Lips had an urgent, crazed sound, comprised of equal parts Gene Vincent-yelp-greaser-rock and Bomp Records era Weirdos. I witnessed two unforgettable shows in early spring of 1980. The first on March 8 in Detroit at Bookies Club 870 and the second on March 24 in Ann Arbor at the Second Chance. I had just turned 17 and Yvette, a.k.a. Mrs. Confusion, snuck me into both venues. I recall a drunken recklessness to the performances, hopped up indeed. I’m not sure if the band was inebriated, however, as the musicianship was sharp yet loose simultaneously. Listening to these tracks in 2024 brings me back to the pre-dawn of the new thing: Hardcore. And knowing that a botched PCP deal delayed the release of this stone cold jam by 45 years is a punk rock story for the ages. Whose wise idea was it to flip Sherm for a profit? How many dust heads could there possibly have been in Battle Creek, circa 1980? Rank would go on to front the much bootlegged Midwest HC maniacs Latin Dogs. — Barry Henssler (Necros)

Radio Raheem and Ancient Artifax have teamed up once again to bring you another killer lost recording, this time from beautiful rural Michigan. After laying down four tracks for a 7 record in 1979, The Lips Are Back got as far as the test pressing phase when someone had a bright idea — what if, instead of using the band fund to self-release their spastic pop-laced debut, they were to first purchase some PCP, sell the dust for profit, THEN release their record and have some cash leftover? Genius, and what could possibly go wrong?! Well, we are happy to say that 45 years later, this brilliantly explosive platter is finally seeing the light of day, rescued from obscurity from the sole surviving test press. Limited to 500 copies with full color fold-out insert with complete lyrics.

Track Listing:
01. Influence
02. Jones Town
03. Bad Morals
04. Swiss Cheese Memory