RATING:


One thing you can always count on from The Flaming Lips is innovation. Their records have become standards in the indie music scene, and they play unforgettable concerts to sold out crowds. It goes without saying that their latest album “Embryonic,” released today, is met with high anticipation and even higher expectations. These expectations weren’t quite met.

While the sound is unmistakably The Flaming Lips, the songs fall short to fully realize what they could have been and what they were probably intended to be. “Embryonic” is the band’s eleventh release and their first two-disc album. This is probably where the problem lies.

It appears that the group has traded in quality for quantity; songs follow the same vibe and almost every melody is repetitious. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the album is Wayne Coyne’s uninspired lyrics. Even tracks featuring guests like MGMT are lacking. Karen O is featured on the song “I Can Be A Frog,” but the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ frontwoman makes animal noises the entire time. No, seriously, animal noises.

This isn’t to say the album doesn’t have its high points. Tracks like “The Ego’s Last Stand” and “Silver Trembling Hands” bring the steadily driving psychedelic rock their listeners have come to know and love. Guitarist and keyboardist Steven Drozd takes his sound experimentation to the next level without overpowering the entire ensemble.

“Embryonic” doesn’t even try to hold a candle to “The Soft Bulletin” or “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.” Maybe it needs time to grow on the listener; it took months for me to fully appreciate “At War With The Mystics” in 2006. I think that The Flaming Lips were stretched too thin with these eighteen tracks. While some songs stick out, the entire recording sounds like it needed some more time developing before being birthed.

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