The Flaming Lips have had a relatively quiet couple of years. After releasing the somewhat mediocre album Oczy Mlody, and providing instrumental backing for one of the worst albums of the decade, they have pretty much just seen fit to re-release old albums on vinyl, or to remix them. To be honest, I wasn't incredibly excited for he band's next offering. Much like Sunn 0))), the band's last album had soured my opinion a little bit, but thankfully, they made it up to me with this record.
King's Mouth is a step in the right direction and a return to form after Oczy Mlody. The band is staying relatively stripped back; just synths, drums, the occasional guitar, Wayne Coyne's boyish vocals and a sound effect here and there. The instrumentation on their previous was quite similar, though this time they remembered to write songs, and they aren't nearly as uneventful.The songs are also stitched together by a spoken word narrative delivered by Mick Jones of the Clash.
While this album is definitely better than their last, I feel like it doesn't reach the songwriting highs of The Soft Bulletin, and the story is somewhat anemic when compared to a project like Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, but I think this is a welcome addition to their discography. This was a Record Store Day release, but it will be getting wider distribution soon, so if you missed out but are curious to hear the record, you won't have to wait long. They'll also be on tour soon, supported by the Claypool Lennon Delirium.
Well, I'm off to listen to some more records, possibly work on some reviews, and write up some more albums in my life entries.
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