The Flaming Lips
What band better embodies the term noise pop" than the Flaming Lips, who gave us 1995's mind-melting Clouds Taste Metallic, along with their early, damaged punk albums and 1999's psychic storm The Soft Bulletin? Rocking their third decade, the Lips continue to move forward with a wide eye on the rear-view mirror, weaving over the line between bedroom favorite and megaband, convincing us not to care too much about the difference.
The Flaming Lips' latest record, At War With the Mystics, is a sensitive stoner fantasia to cheer us in the final, dragging years of the Bush regime. The disc is the Oklahoma outfit's second fight-themed title in a row, after 2002's Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, each falling to earth in the post-millennial age of neo-consciousness. While both urged us to keep kicking against the pricks, anger and frustration seem less abstract on the new album. Wayne Coyne still robes his themes in metaphor, but he's humanized his antagonists (mystics vs. robots). It may be difficult for us to apprehend the mystics, but they are of our world in a way that the pink robots are not. Also, on Mystics, the fantastic conceit readily dissolves to reveal a commentary on our dire state of national affairs, in which power is a weapon rather than a strength. As opposed to the synthetic rhythms of Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, the new disc features more prominent guitars, which also suit the newfound lyrical aggression (and bode well for a good live show).
Still, calls to arms have seldom sounded so sweet, for so long. With each album, Coyne looks more like one of the wizards he sings about. If we can continue to tell time by the Lips, it'll be a little easier to float through the zeroes. Besides, going to see the Flaming Lips live is like embarking on a fantastic voyage, where we'll see dancing stuffed animals, a man in a bubble, giant balloons, and a singer in a casual suit with a smile on his bloody face. We never know where we'll end up: One moment it's the psychedelic '60s or the ominously groovy '70s, the next it's the spacey '80s or the freak-popping '90s. The Lips even took us to a rave with Yoshimi.
For all we've seen and heard, we don't know just what to expect from Wayne and the Oklahoma City Martians. Fortunately for us, though they see the madness of our world. They like it here and have decided to stick around, serenading us in our hometown. -Jeff T. Johnson
