Let me begin this review with the disclaimer that it is being written with little to no prior experience with The Flaming Lips and also after the first home-cooked meal I've had in about 3 weeks. In this state of delirium, I turned on the band's upcoming effort entitled Embryonic (October 13th, Warner Brothers). The first track is called "Convinced of the Hex", which you may have been introduced to, as I was, on the band's appearance about 2 weeks ago on The Colbert Report. This track, which I have renamed in my own mind as "The Difference Between Us" is powerful in its simplicity. It introduces the album's overall feel instantly. Dreamy, distant, transportive. Right away you are brought to a suspended reality. A place where the same incessant riff for several minutes creates in your mind not boredom but a meditative and hypnotic atmosphere, a dreamscape.
The album progresses and it becomes clear though that the leading track may actually be Embryonic's least lucid. The lyrics become less and less understandable, and less important. No longer are you concerned with what message the album is trying to convey, if there is anyway, but more so with the feel of the album. It occurs to me that, as the album's title indicates, that you are meant to feel unborn. No longer a part of this world but a part of something higher, primitive not in the sense of cavemen but primitive in the sense of pre-existence. A part of the oversoul. A part of God.
"We can be like they are, we can be free" we are told on "Sagittarius Silver Announcement". Release yourself from the bonds of the world.
The second track is called "The Sparrow Looks Up at the Machine". This is not the only avian reference within the album. There is a common thread of flying and transcendence, all very fitting. On "Evil" the protagonist sings about escaping the restrictions of time. Again, transcending time and space. The album succeeds in conveying this, however, when it is not being sung explicitly. "Those people are Evil," the ways of the world are evil and keep us from this metaphysical bliss.
The instrumentation of the album reflects this equally. There are clips of what sound like newscasts or dialogue between a spaceship and its home base. Electric guitars and standard rock band arrangements are used, as are drum machines and digital instruments, most notably there is a vocoder used on the final track entitled "The Impulse". This eclectic use is not meant to wow you, however... its usage is very subtle. Instead it is meant to lead you not to identify with any specific sound but the overall atmosphere, again, that is painted by the tracks. The album slows and quickens, sometimes unnoticed. Some tracks are hard to distinguish from others. If there are any musical themes repeated it is hard to tell because of the lack of emphasis placed on any melody. Again, this album is not about melody but environment. It is abstract and artful in that it is trying to allow the listener to transcend and is very much open to interpretation.
I do not think The Flaming Lips will gain any mainstream critical acclaim with this album, it is impossible. However, Embryonic is definitely an achievement, although I apologetically cannot compare it to any of their previous efforts. What I can say though is that this album has won me over as a fan and has convinced me to go back through the band's catalogue. In the future, if I become familiar with their previous work perhaps I will come back and tell you more how Embryonic fits in the course of the band's career.
I can tell you my opinions of this album independently. Notable tracks are the previously mentioned "Convinced of the Hexes", and then "See the Leaves", "Worm Mountain" and "I Can Be a Frog" which features Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeah's making assorted animal sounds. These four best sum up the album for me and that is that the Flaming Lips have done a better job than any other band I can readily think of in creating accessible psychedelic and transcendent music.
Personally, I love Embryonic, but it is not the type of album that you will revisit over and over for weeks after first hearing it. Instead, it is the type of album that takes patience and an open mind to appreciate. However, when you approach the album with these things it is an experience. That is the best word to summarizes the effect of this album: an experience, from its album art to its production. No song on this album can truly exist within itself, but together Embryonic's 15 songs form to make something truly beautiful.
- Nick
