[Warner Bros.; 2009]
Links: The Flaming Lips | Warner Bros. | Purchase on Insound
Posted by Jason Hirschhorn on 16 October 2009
Wayne Coyne is not as weird as you think. Dedicated Flaming Lips fans certainly want to think otherwise, but at the heart of Coyne’s best work is a strong, unique songcraft that is just as moving in the acid space of the Flaming Lips as a stripped down acoustic guitar number. It is no wonder that when Wayne and the band step out from the veil of weirdness, they often achieve their best results. There is no other way to explain how over a decade after “that Jelly song” earned the Flaming Lips their only real mainstream success, “Do You Realize??” became the official Oklahoma state rock song. That’s right, Oklahoma is now cooler than your state.
With this in mind, we take on the Flaming Lips new album, Embryonic. This is an album best suited for front to back listening in order to fully absorb. For non-fans, this can be extraordinarily daunting due both to the density of the sound and the length of the album. For those listeners, judgment of the album will come down to the quality of the songs. There are some quality songs here, that’s for sure. However, the band has buried much of the melody under layers of ambience. In some cases this works to make the songs more forceful. Take the opener, “Convinced Of The Hex.” There is a lot of stuff going on, but the listener isn’t overwhelmed by the beeps and chimes, and consequently the song is able to breathe. This isn’t the case elsewhere. On “Worm Mountain” the band doesn’t allow the song much space. The song struggles to keep its head above the surface, and its impact on the listener is greatly reduced. The fate of most of the songs on Embryonic come down to how much room there is for all the various sounds Coyne has put into the mix.
One of the most noticeable traits of the album is how low the vocals are in the mix. For fans that joined up after the Soft Bulletin or Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, this will come as a surprise. This is arguably a good thing, as Wayne Coyne’s voice is in same the category as Neil Young’s, which is to say that while it’s very recognizable, it’s not very conventionally “good.” This reduces that issue considerably, even if it means that the lyrics are nearly impossible to hear. Again, this is arguably a good thing, as many of Wayne’s lyrics amount to barely more than random disconnected thoughts. It also shifts more focus onto sonic atmosphere, which is the album’s thematic crux.
Good Flaming Lips songs find their niche within the soundscapes the band provides them. On Embryonic, the songs don’t settle into their places as much as they fight for elbow room. This creates tension, which gives the album a punch that the Flaming Lips haven’t had since the mid-nineties. The downside of this is it doesn’t give the album much of a flow, and with the album running well over an hour, this is a major concern. The Flaming Lips certainly are the kind of band that can produce interesting atmospheres, however they are slumping here. While many of the soundscapes stand out when the track is isolated, they just blend together when listening to the album as a whole. Nothing stands out other than the occasional song that is just too strong to remain hidden under the weight of the ambience.
What this means is that Embryonic won’t be sharing the same lofty air as Flaming Lips classics of the past ten years like The Soft Bulletin or Yoshimi, but that isn’t to say the album is a letdown. Coyne and company are trying to work within a sonic vein that they haven’t tapped yet; a venture worth pursuing. The album sounds like the Flaming Lips, but it doesn’t sound like an album they’ve already done. And furthermore, the album is definitely interesting. However, the Flaming Lips have just been caught doing what even the best bands are apt to do when they get ambitious; they try too hard as they traverse the wild and bizarre. The album just can’t stand under its own immense weight. It’s not just a matter of album length; even if edited down to a normal running length, most listeners would be incapable of pulling all the various sounds and ideas together into a cohesive sound. This is the sound of a veteran band breaking out of its jail cell, not the reinvention that is being strived for, and this is due to the overstepping of the band’s leader. Had Wayne Coyne just accepted that he’s an oddball songsmith instead of the wizard of weird, Embryonic would have been much better.
79%
September 29th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Way to ignore At War With the Mystics.
September 29th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
@ Michael: At War With The Mystics is not anywhere close to a classic you dolt. It was a really bad album.
September 30th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
You say the album has too much tension and doesn’t flow, but then in the same paragraph you say the songs blend together when listened to the album as a whole. I disagree, I think the album progresses very well since it is basically a concept album if you pay attention to the lyrics, and yes, it does have tensions that all resolve in the end with Silver Trembling Hands and the epic closer Watching the Planets. If you were expecting a follow-up to Yoshimi or At War then I can see why you would be disappointed, but this is the real Flaming Lips here. I think you just haven’t listened to the album enough yet, I mean it isn’t even going to be released for 2 weeks and you’re already making a review of it.
September 30th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Awtm wasn’t a bad album, but also not a classic.
you’re reviewer, however, is fucking clueless.
But hey, maybe Jason can go jack off to Yoshimi…
September 30th, 2009 at 11:39 pm
LOLz at all these fanboys who can’t accept that this just a middle of the road album. Put the computer down and get a life.
October 1st, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Yeah, the new lips record is pretty c-range stuff. This review’s about right.
October 1st, 2009 at 7:06 pm
I agree with Candy. The reviewers in the right ball park.
October 10th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Daniel, shut the fuck up. It’s only a really bad album for those with really bad taste. Your dumb ass would know all about that, wouldn’t you, boy?
October 14th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
LMAO. Michael, you and pitchfork need to get a fucking room. You both seem to enjoy throwing superlatives out to albums that don’t deserve it. AWwtM sucked, and this new album sounds like it was mixed by a serial killer. There’s no way to listen to it without wondering wtf they were thinking. If it had enough good songs, that would be fine, but it doesn’t. If only you weren’t blinded by your Lips fandom you’d see what the Lips have been making since Yoshimi: subpar albums.
October 14th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
embryonic is the worst turd leftover from a turd sandwich i have ever tried to digest. I am a fan of all the lips material especially the material from the 80′s, and for all you people with cotton in your ears awwtm kicked ass.
October 14th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
i think lips fans who like this album have just put themselves on the same level as dead heads
October 15th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Shut the fuck up, part two, Daniel. If you weren’t so damn busy shoving words I never said down my fucking throat, you would have enough sense to stay in your place. When the hell did I ever say At War With the Mystics was a masterpiece?? All I said was the review didn’t even mention the album, which it didn’t. Point blank. It’s you who is the one masturbating your own ego by having the nerve to falsely accuse me of saying shit that never came out of my mouth. Grow the hell up and stop shitting on me for no reason. Now wipe your ass, pull up your pants and move on. You don’t deserve ears, go fuck yourself.
October 15th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
Touchy Touchy Mikey. Nothing shows ignorance more than overly defensive responses such as yours. So instead of providing yet more evidence that you’re a Lips homeboy who gets in a hissy everytime someone puts down your precious band, why don’t you just give up and go back to pretending there’s a reason to listen to AWwtM. Hell, if deserving ears means I have to listen to that album, I don’t want ‘em.
October 15th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
Oh, and you’re “fabulous” myspace is a killer. Wayne Coyne himself couldn’t combine blatant homosexuality with his music any better than you did.
October 15th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Learn correct grammar, you idiot. And keep your stalking to a minimum please. I am gay and definitely proud of who I am, so you throwing out childish insults regarding sexual orientation does not faze me. Blatantly and unnecessarily insulting someone just for sharing a different viewpoint. Well aren’t you just a brave one? Only the truly ignorant think it’s cool to get buck behind a fucking computer. Congratulations, you’ve won the Internet! Gee whiz, you’re so cool. <3
October 15th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
Oh, and if I were you, I’d watch what I’d say about my “fabulousness.” I just might anally rape you in your dreams just so you’ll wake up gay in the morning. Fabulous indeed. Smooches! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
October 16th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Hey guys, can we tone it down a bit.
Comment sections are here to discuss the music at hand, not each other’s sexual orientation and private life. And could we please keep obscenities to a minimum?
I really don’t want to have to moderate each comment.
October 16th, 2009 at 1:50 am
Yeah, but had you not allowed that boy to needlessly insult me in the first place, you do realize none of this would have ever escalated, right? Granted, I didn’t need to fire back and probably wasn’t in my best interest, but by insulting my intelligence was already crossing the line and taunting homosexuality is just plain distasteful and ridiculous. With that said, the review is a bit shortsighted and I guarantee Embryonic will be held in the same esteem as the band’s past catalog. It’s full of cliched criticisms that double albums always seem to absorb. Embryonic’s double album format is purely of an aesthetic choice–an artistic statement that pays homage to the famed double albums that birthed its inspiration. Its 73-minute running time can easily be contained to a single disc and there are variants of this album that can be purchased in that template. The sonic density of the production is not a detractor of the album’s quality, it’s an enhancer. There are so many dimensions to the recording that it is never heard the same way twice. Yes, the album tends to meander, but that is part of its intent which doesn’t seem to be understood by the review. It has an undisciplined and uninhibited flow that, although difficult to digest upon first listening, manages to fascinate and bewilder with each detour it decides to take. Embryonic isn’t supposed to lend itself to a coherent statement. It’s meant to be loose-limbed and sprawling, undeterred by the pressures of conventionalism and for that characteristic alone, the album succeeds admirably. There’s no other album in 2009 quite like it. It’s just disappointing that boneheads, who’s names aren’t worth mentioning at this moment, aren’t able to appreciate such extraordinary genius. You don’t have to be a “fanboy” to recognize great art.
October 16th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
I write for this site, and even I disagree with this review. But that’s why music is subjective. I think as a review itself, it was well written and he defended his stance on the album.
I personally just don’t agree with it. I think this album is incredible. At the same time, I can 100% understand why someone would not like this album (how some are saying it drags on, meanders, has no stand out singles). The album to me is supposed to be listened as one whole track (a really bizarre listening experience). Because no songs really stand out on their own, it’s really an “all or nothing” kind of album. And I can understand if some don’t buy into this. But if you do buy into it, and you find this kind of thing enjoyable – this album is really great.
Just my 2 cents.
October 16th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
I was out of line with the homosexual comment, I apologize.
However, this needs to be pointed out. “Yes, the album tends to meander, but that is part of its intent which doesn’t seem to be understood by the review.” The ol’ “it’s supposed to suck” argument. There’s nothing wrong with an album that doesn’t stay in one place, but there are definite filler moments here, which on a double album begs the question ‘why not just edit it out?’
November 20th, 2009 at 10:37 am
Wow, what a painful thread to read, so I'll just comment on the album and the review. The first thing that came to mind when I listened to this is that it's the Lip's Kid-A. They set their regression, and even though there are several outliers that don't stand out on their own, they keep the basic line intact in a positive direction. Listen to Kid-A and you can't really pull out one song that is a standout, yet together it's brilliant. Embryonic is the same. It's an album in the truest sense- steeped in the grand 1970's excesses of what that means. As for the review, I find it's (and others) focus / criticism with it being a double album missing the point. It's really a concept album and that seems more important to me than it being double, because it's concept is to both pay homage to and mock/challenge that genre and themselves. Because of this, it doesn't overtly convey the rolling eyes absurdity, pat psychology, and forced juxtaposition so common to concept albums, and when it does, it's completely ironic like “The Ego's Last Stand” or joking like “I can be a frog” and “The Impulse.” These songs are ridiculous on their own, but in the context of the rest of Embryonic, they're hilarious and disturbing simultaneously. This album is a mission of revelry, reinvention and reformation and they succeeded brilliantly. It works for what it is, and what it attempted to be.
November 20th, 2009 at 10:40 am
Wow, what a painful thread to read, so I'll just comment on the album and the review. The first thing that came to mind when I listened to this is that it's the Lip's Kid-A. They set their regression, and even though there are several outliers that don't stand out on their own, they keep the basic line intact in a positive direction. Listen to Kid-A and you can't really pull out one song that is a standout, yet together it's brilliant. Embryonic is the same. It's an album in the truest sense- steeped in the grand 1970's excesses of what that means. As for the review, I find it's (and others) focus / criticism with it being a double album missing the point. It's really a concept album and that seems more important to me than it being double, because it's concept is to both pay homage to and mock/challenge that genre and themselves. Because of this, it doesn't overtly convey the rolling eyes absurdity, pat psychology, and forced juxtaposition so common to concept albums, and when it does, it's completely ironic like “The Ego's Last Stand” or joking like “I can be a frog” and “The Impulse.” These songs are ridiculous on their own, but in the context of the rest of Embryonic, they're hilarious and disturbing simultaneously. This album is a mission of revelry, reinvention and reformation and they succeeded brilliantly. It works for what it is, and what it attempted to be.