The Flaming Lips - The Terror (28/08/2013)
Ever since the frankly fantastic Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, experimental rock group The Flaming Lips have become something like the grand-daddies of industry where popular experimental music is concerned.
Being able to experiment and push boundaries while also hanging onto a substantial following that has them headlining events like Falls Festival 2012, The Flaming Lips have done a good job of reinventing themselves, with a heaping of unpredictability to match, in the last 30 years.
Personally though, after the break-through releases that were The Soft Bulletin, Yoshimi, and At War With The Mystics, my love for the group fell off as they put out the incredibly challenging Embryonic, and then took another step in the possibly narcissistic direction with a complete album cover of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon. Basically, it's been a strange evolution, and I can't honestly say I was fully behind the band on most releases since Mystics, but, with The Terror, I see a sliver of hope for my love-affair with the Flips.
Taking a step in a far more atmospheric direction, The Terror centers itself around ideas of looping and repetition, with plenty of breathy vocals on part of frontman Wayne Coyne. Honestly I feel as though the album itself is the idea that The Flaming Lips had this time around, rather than a collection of ideas that present themselves as the album progresses, even so, the idea and how it's applied is strong enough to keep the record interesting.
As far as their past work goes, this is about as expansive and ambient I've heard the group go, but thankfully the always energetic drumming of Steven Drozd manages to keep everything grounded and moving to save itself from floating in a meaningless space of sound forever.
Speaking of meaningless space, the records lyrical content is very referential to its title, speaking intimately of a crushing terror that can come from loneliness, anxiety, and depression. Coyne writes about a longing for freedom, the absence of love, but the presence of existence even after a great love has left your life.
It's heavy stuff, and suits itself to the melancholy repetition of the instrumentation, but all in all the tone of the album manages to remain engaging even while its on the depression train to self-loathing town. I'd recommend it, purely if you're looking for a more expansive view on just what The Flaming Lips are capable of, and also if you're looking for what is some of the easiest listening the group has put out in a while.
Nick Kennedy
Being able to experiment and push boundaries while also hanging onto a substantial following that has them headlining events like Falls Festival 2012, The Flaming Lips have done a good job of reinventing themselves, with a heaping of unpredictability to match, in the last 30 years.
Personally though, after the break-through releases that were The Soft Bulletin, Yoshimi, and At War With The Mystics, my love for the group fell off as they put out the incredibly challenging Embryonic, and then took another step in the possibly narcissistic direction with a complete album cover of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon. Basically, it's been a strange evolution, and I can't honestly say I was fully behind the band on most releases since Mystics, but, with The Terror, I see a sliver of hope for my love-affair with the Flips.
Taking a step in a far more atmospheric direction, The Terror centers itself around ideas of looping and repetition, with plenty of breathy vocals on part of frontman Wayne Coyne. Honestly I feel as though the album itself is the idea that The Flaming Lips had this time around, rather than a collection of ideas that present themselves as the album progresses, even so, the idea and how it's applied is strong enough to keep the record interesting.
As far as their past work goes, this is about as expansive and ambient I've heard the group go, but thankfully the always energetic drumming of Steven Drozd manages to keep everything grounded and moving to save itself from floating in a meaningless space of sound forever.
Speaking of meaningless space, the records lyrical content is very referential to its title, speaking intimately of a crushing terror that can come from loneliness, anxiety, and depression. Coyne writes about a longing for freedom, the absence of love, but the presence of existence even after a great love has left your life.
It's heavy stuff, and suits itself to the melancholy repetition of the instrumentation, but all in all the tone of the album manages to remain engaging even while its on the depression train to self-loathing town. I'd recommend it, purely if you're looking for a more expansive view on just what The Flaming Lips are capable of, and also if you're looking for what is some of the easiest listening the group has put out in a while.
Nick Kennedy