AMERICAN HEAD is the latest album by Neo-Psychedelia outfit The Flaming Lips. But is it good?
Since my last Flaming Lips review I've definitely developed a greater understanding of their work; which as you can imagine is pretty difficult considering their nearly 40 year lifespan as a band, and even now I've still got loads to get thru- but that's for later, I'm reviewing this album right now. So what did I think of it?
Well, I'm certainly not alone in thinking that is one of the best Lips albums for a while- Oczy Mlody and Kings Mouth weren't exactly records to ride home about, but I think this one may be. I think it's pretty evident from the twinkly opener WILL YOU RETURN/ WHEN YOU COME DOWN- The lyricism and instrumentation here is really fantastic. The track has this mix of melancholy and dreamy that really works with the piano and acoustic guitar in the backing track. The backing vocals on this track are great too, it really harkens back to the early 2000s era of the band without feeling like they're retreading ground- it's a really really strong opener.
WATCHING THE LIGHTBUGS GLOW functions as a release I think, it's got a lot of open space with a very understated sequenced percussion track, off kilter backing vocals and slide-y guitar, which flow into next track FLOWERS OF NEPTUNE 6 perfectly- the choral vocals with the delay effect against the strings give the track a really good vibe, especially with the forlorn and weary lyrics- "John's still a greaser, and Tommy's gone off to war, James got busted, and doesn't give a fuck anymore". The track develops in a really satisfying way too.
I'm not as hot on DINOSAURS ON THE MOUNTAIN as some of the other tracks. Mind you, it's one of the only two tracks on the record I consider to be sub par- it's kind of goofy and the writing isnt great, honestly. It's cute but honestly it just doesn't scratch the same itch as the first 3 tracks did. It does have some cool psychedelic guitar effects tho.
AT THE MOVIES ON QUAALUDES is one of the first of many overt references to drug use, and it's also a very good song. It has a really great feeling of drama, particularly in the line "We're so high that we forget that we're alive, as we destroy our brains 'til we believe we're dead". It's got another awesome guitar solo, more cool backing vocals, and I like the piano part alot too. Great track.
MOTHER I'VE TAKEN LSD isn't quite as goofy as the name would suggest- alot of the lyrics are pretty despondent, with stories about robbing the drug stores, and being taken to the ward and motorbike crashes. It's a pretty good song too.
BROTHER EYE and YOU AND ME SELLING WEED have sort of similar feelings to them, but are still their own tracks entirely. BROTHER EYE has this midi keyboard part throughout, and the lyrics appear to be this pondering on death of a brother- it's a really beautiful track. My thoughts on YOU AND ME haven't changed too much- not sure if it's still one of my top 10 songs but it's definitely still an absolutely great piece of music. I just want to live forever in that dramatic string outro, and just the whole song really. It's just a song that's about so much more than selling pot, it's really beautiful.
MOTHER PLEASE DON'T BE SAD focuses on death as a theme once again, with this really dramatic string section and Wayne's childlike vocals contrasting in a really cool way. The lyrics have a weirdly positive and upbeat quality despite the dark subject matter. WHEN WE DIE WHEN WE'RE HIGH is a classic Lips instrumental continuation with some really cool effects, which mostly importantly isn't boring- especially thanks to some backing vocals floating around the track.
ASSASSINS OF YOUTH has the weird feeling of being kind of a ballad- there's this fast acoustic guitar track, and that track finds Wayne missing his youth, and his younger self- it has lots of cool electronic parts too, and some understated drums at points to. Yet another solid track, with an equally solid outro.
GOD AND THE POLICEMAN and MY RELIGION IS YOU round out album with laments on religion, among other things, with Kacey Musgraves on the former track. The latter has these huge bass hits that round out the album pretty well, The writing on MY RELIGION starts off kind of bad it does improve as the tracks goes on. Overall I think the message of the album is that looking for meaning in drugs is ultimately impossible, and that it must be found in others or within yourself. Of course, that isn't going to stop people from dropping acid and listening to the album, but that's just my interpretation.
So is the record good? Yeh, I think so. Didn't blow me away, but it was still a good listen with a good mix of moods and flavours of song. Proof that you can be in music for this long and still make good tracks (looking at you, Albarn). Well worth a listen if you're a fan of psych or indie music.
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