Formed in 1999, the Black Lips consisted of Cole Alexander on lead vocals, guitar, and harmonica, Ben Eberbaugh on lead guitar, Jared Swilley on bass, and Joe Bradley on drums, when they released their first single. After a second single and a handful of raucous live shows that led to them being banned from several Georgia venues, they caught the attention of Greg Shaw at Bomp! Records, who signed them to a recording deal. The Black Lips cut their self-titled first album in mid-2002, but before it could be released, Ederbaugh was killed in a freak auto accident when a driver going the wrong way crashed into his car at a toll booth. The death occurred only a few days before the Black Lips were to set out on an East Coast and Midwest tour; believing Ederbaugh would have wanted them to continue, the three-piece made plans to add a new lead guitarist for a more extensive tour in 2003 to support the release of the album. Their second effort for Bomp!, 2004's We Did Not Know the Forest Spirit Made the Flowers Grow, featured new guitarist Jack Hines.
The band saw more personnel changes in 2017, as drummer Joe Bradley dropped out and Oakley Munson took over behind the kit; the group also added a sax player, Zumi Rosow. With its membership settled again, the band was ready to hit the road in support of Satan's Graffiti or God's Art?, released in May 2017 and produced by Sean Lennon. In 2018, Jack Hines left the Black Lips, and Jeff Clarke took his place on guitar. Clarke made his recording debut on Sing in a World That's Falling Apart, a country-influenced set that appeared in early 2020. The group stepped away from that new country sound for their next LP, 2022's Apocalypse Love, a stylistically diverse set that saw them filtering funk, hip-hop, '60s-style pop, vintage R&B, and much more through their garage rock formula.
