Search - The Flaming Lips :: At War With the Mystics

The Flaming Lips Finally Meet Pink Floyd

griphfunk the rock nasty | provo ut | 04/05/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Well its finally happened. The Flaming Lips have met Pink Floyd head on. They have always hinted at a Floydian influence especially on the last two albums, but on this one its quite blatant on such tunes as "The Sound of Failure," "My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion," "Vein of Stars," and "It Overtakes Me." "The Wizard Turns On" sounds like an updated version of "Interstellar Overdrive;" while "Pompeii Am Gotterdammerung" could be a tribute to "One of These Days."

Now just because the Lips are openly wearing their Floyd influence on their sleeve doesn't mean that this isn't original because it is. To those who don't feel it is as good or consistent as "The Soft Bulletin" or "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" I encourage you to listen to it a couple of more times. Having listened to it about three times myself I would say that it holds up well making this the third consecutive Flaming Lips masterpiece. It embraces the guitar freakouts of their earlier albums and combines them with the pyschedelic soundscapes of their more frequent work. Once the critics have caught up to this album it will likely be near the top of all the best of lists at the end of the year. The album is a sonic masterpiece and the lyrics are classic Flaming Lips but with a little bit more political fire than we normally hear. But the child like curiosity of the universe is still in tact, as well as the deeper existential questions. All in all the album is just as adventurous and exciting as a Flaming Lips album should be. It boils over with hope and optimism but it also contains shades of darkness and fear. A modern classic all the way. Nuff said."

No chapped lips here...

M. Lohrke | Provo, UT | 04/04/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"how do you describe the flaming lip? 'art provacateurs?' 'cartoons?' 'experimentalists?' 'mad geniuses?' all those superlatives, and more, apply to the flaming lips. as mentioned above, coyne and co., have ditched the concept album approach in favor the more 'traditional' album (but suprisingly isn't *that* different from 'yoshimi). the result? a suprising vibrant and solid record. (their best? maybe.)



i didn't know what to expect after back-to-back genre defining albums. how do you follow up two of the better albums of the last twenty years? well, in this case, you try to top it. do they do it? yes. with 'mystics,' coyne and co. up the ante and delivered a truly great album



the beauty of 'mystics' is that channels so many past and present influences. much of 'mystics' sounds mined from 70s AM Gold radio (except in stereo). the flutes in 'the sound of failure' and 'the wizard turns on' are unexpected, yet perfect, addition. there are touches of weirdness (the sped-up vocals on 'it overtakes me,' and the sirens on 'mr. ambulance driver') and a song ('goin' on') that sounds like the perfect theme song to a 'welcome back, kotter' spin-off. lest that description scare anyone, you needn't worry--it's a brilliant song and the perfect album closer. The disco-influenced 'Mr ambulance driver' and the soporific 'pompeii...' are distant cousins to 'yoshimi's' 'in the morning of the magicians.' 'w.a.n.d.' sounds like one of queen's long-lost songs, yet is quintessentially flaming lips through and through.



the more i listen to this album, the better it gets. it really does. wayne delivers some absolutely exhilirating melodies. they aren't always immediatly evident, but they're are indeed there. dave fridman's production is stellar, as usual. as with every lips album before it, 'mystics' is an endlessly interesting listen. one gets the feeling coyne and co. will never rest on their laurels, and it's never more apparent than on 'mystics.' it's a dizzying, wonderful release from a band that twenty years in seems to be barely tapping their full creativity. thank god for the lips. highly recommended.



p.s. listen to it with headphones, repeatedly. you won't want to miss it."

Grows on you in your sleep

Mark L. Maggi | Oakland, CA United States | 04/05/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Being a semi-recent Flips fan I am not the best barometer to measure whether it's a 'return to roots' or 'more of the same'.



What I can say is that after many, many listenings I can honestly say it will take many more to get my head around this record.



On first listen I was ecstatically singing along to "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah Song" then getting confused by the sudden turn of minimalist funk of "Free Radicals". Then the saddest ballad in the world "Sound of Failure".



The rest of the album continued to turn unexpected corners, leaving my expectations trembling and confused. Was this awful? Was this brilliant?'



The only choice was repeated listening. And it paid off. Each song is so amazingly great in its genre that it makes the following track wiggle like a worm on a hook.



Only after repeated listenings can one appreciate the gestalt of the album. It's a 12-part course of unique flavors and styles. Last week 'Free Radicals' was my favorite track. This week it's 'Sound of Failure'. Next week maybe 'Mr. Ambulance Driver' will grab me the way it's grabbed most people.



In any case, The Flaming Lips are following their own muse, and I'm happy to join the queue."