Flaming Lips Back to Bizarre With Embryonic

'Sprawling' double album should please longtime fans

By Evann Gastaldo, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 12, 2009 1:14 PM CDT

(Newser) – The Flaming Lips are no stranger to reinvention, having transformed “from garage-punk misfits into a splendorous, kaleidoscopic rock outfit,” then later “into a sophisticated, sincere symphonic-pop troupe bestowed with increasing commercial acclaim.” The release of Embryonic marks another sea change—and it’s the band's boldest effort since 1997's Zaireeka, writes Stuart Berman for Pitchfork. “There's a raw directness to Embryonic that's been largely absent from Lips records since the mid-'90s.”

The double album, like the band’s film Christmas on Mars, marks a return to the Lips' "bizarro roots.” It “ruminates on themes of madness, isolation, and hallucinogenic horror, translating them into an unrelentingly paranoid, static-soaked acid-rock epic,” Berman continues. “Even in its slighter moments, Embryonic exhibits a renewed sense of fearless freakery for a band who so recently threatened to lapse into stagy routine.”

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (2)]

Wayne Coyne of 'The Flaming Lips' performs at the VH1 Rock Honors “The Who” on Saturday July 12, 2008 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)

The cover of "Embryonic" is shown. (MySpace)

The Flaming Lips members are shown in a picture from their MySpace page. (MySpace)

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In light of Mystics' overly processed, grab-bag quality, the holistic, audio-vérité approach on display here is remarkable—the record is extremely dense, initially overwhelming, but unusually rewarding upon repeat listens. - Stuart Berman

Never before has the band recorded an album so unwaveringly sinister, or so devoid of pop-song levity. (Hell, even Zaireeka had "The Big Ol' Bug Is the New Baby Now".) - Stuart Berman

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Flaming Lips Back to Bizarre With Embryonic