Anyone remotely familiar with the eccentric, eclectic and energetic sound of “The Flaming Lips” should know the bizarre band well enough to expect just about anything from them.
And after nearly four years since their critically renowned “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots”, The Lips return with their twelfth studio album, “The Flaming Lips” and have furthered their innovative style to new psychedelic heights.
“At War with the Mystics” follows what many consider to be “The Flaming Lips'” best album to date. “Yoshimi” has been coined as an unsurpassable album, leaving many people skeptical. While it is impossible to say that classic albums like “Yoshimi” can actually have a subsequent superior, “At War with the Mystics” certainly does a more-than-respectable job following it.
“At War with the Mystics” opens up with the powerful and tone-setting “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (With All Your Power),” which sets the stage for the roller-coaster ride that’s to come while listening to the rest of the album.
“Mr. Ambulance Driver” is a much mellower tune that delivers a strange homage to members of a very under-appreciated profession, according to Mr. Coyne that is. “The W.A.N.D. (The Will Always Negates Defeat),” their other single, is a energetic jam that takes a direct stab at those “fanatical minds who try to rule all the world,” while also encouraging the passive approach that utilizes “your power.”
Other standouts on the album include “My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion,” an ethereal tune complete with various keyboard effects and chirping birds, evoking a relaxed observation of exterior surroundings, and the instrumental “The Wizard Turns On…The Giant Silver Flashlight and Puts on his Werewolf Moccasins,” which as the title suggests, is completely bizarre and can be listened to and interpreted however one may desire.
Keep in mind The Lips released a compilation a few years ago called “The Flaming Lips are Finally Doing Acid.” Enough said.
Finally, there’s “It Overtakes Me,” a bass-driven track that makes up for its lack of lyrics with strong instrumental content. This song also carries on the underlying theme of human insignificance in the vastness of the universe that is apparent throughout this album and other The Lips albums, which may be why The Flaming Lips are able to perpetuate their amazing music for so many years.
The overall verdict for The Flaming Lips’ “At War with the Mystics”: it’s incredibly different than anything they’ve ever done, just like every other album they’ve put out, but it’s a fantastic album nonetheless.
They have done it once again, and this album is proof that they don’t seem to be slowing down after more than twenty-three years.
Anyone interested in the sound and music of The Lips, to whatever degree it may be, should definitely buy or somehow acquire a copy of this album, as it will almost definitely be enjoyed for various reasons. There is no doubt that it is unique, that it is strange, and absurd, and weird, certainly weird… but who ever said weird was a bad thing?
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