The Flaming Lips
The Terror
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Psych rock
Over the years, The Flaming Lips has asserted itself as acid-bubblegum rock royalty, with brilliant psychedelic instrumentals and deliciously bizarre emotional depth. However, with its 13th record release, The Terror, the band seems to have missed the slightly off-kilter mark.
Opener “Look… The Sun is Rising” is bleak both musically and lyrically. Over-produced vocals from lead singer Wayne Coyne quickly lose the listeners’ attention with lyrics like, “Love is always something, something you should fear”. While the presence of an intoxicating drumbeat serves as a slightly redeeming quality, altogether the song begs for any source of liveliness.
“You Lust” serves as a whopping 13 minute-long track with a guest appearance from the electro group Phantogram. Although one might expect this to be a standout moment, the song disappoints with loaded synthesizer and repetitive drums. With lyrics like “Better kill your emperor, cause you know you’re just like me,” this collaboration carries hints of anger and physical aggression, pulling the listener down into the depths of despair.
After the rattle of “Turning Violent”, the album comes to a close with “Always There, In Our Hearts” an overcast trance of repetitive lyrics and distorted guitars that tries to blast its way to the surface but comes up just short.
With themes of isolation and withdrawal, The Terror appears to serve as a counterpoint to the upbeat psychedelic explorations of The Flaming Lips’ last proper record, Embryonic. It is purely existential, sounding like the ultimate transmission from the last remaining survivor on a dying planet, an album that drifts away from you, yet disappointingly never pulls you back in.
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