IN REVIEW: The Flaming Lips

IN REVIEW: The Flaming Lips - "Oczy Mlody"

The good news: The Flaming Lips' fourteenth album is more listenable than the two that came before it (2009's Embryonic and 2013's The Terror). The bad news: interesting sonic ideas aside, Oczy Mlody's weirdness veers more toward annoying than endearing. There are occasional flashbacks to their peak period, but the majority of the songs here are haphazard slabs of cold, electronic head-scratchers. Likewise, whereas Wayne Coyne's lyrics used to offer some human connection and even affirmation sprinkled in, this record's half-baked concept (people take a drug that lets them sleep for three months, proceed to see things) limits the lyric sheet to meaningless, trite, stream-of-consciousness acidspeak (sample: "there should be unicorns / the ones with the purple eyes / not the green eyes").

A critic's score for Oczy Mlody may be proportional to the level of chemical dependency the critic has; in which case, it would score a zero from this lame-o drug-free reviewer. That said, I'll give it a slight handicap because I'm willing to take it on faith that it reveals more the more fucked up you are, but I'm certainly not willing to add a drug habit onto my music buying addiction, especially for an album with seemingly as little true substance to offer as this.

January 13, 2017 • Warner Bros.
Highlights How?? • The Castle • We a Family

Comments

Year in Rock 2025

Alright, I've got some explaining to do. By now anyone who's visited this blog is well aware of how infrequently I've used this space in recent years; aside from the occasional fertile year of content, I really haven't posted all that often over the last five years or so. There are many reasons for this, which have already been outlined in previous apology posts; but, essentially, it boils down to my own laziness and the cold reality that blogs are, like Refused (again), fucking dead. So, I wouldn't hold my breath for a triumphant return to reviews, or even semi-regular posts, but: a) I feel like Year in Rock posts have always belonged here and, even though I've experimented with different methods of presentation recently and been satisfied, the "blink and you missed it" unveiling via Facebook stories this year was perhaps ultimately a disservice to the records I lauded. After all, cramming the list into short videos isn't too far off from ju...

Year in Rock 2023: Album of the Year #10-1

Now we're getting somewhere; the top ten, where there are no duds or mids, only bangers. Also, no more teasing it out; let's wrap this up! What I've learned this year from my ten faves this year is that it is indeed still possible for a dude approaching his fifties to more or less stay up to date on the new school. Of course, there are some listed here that got a boost from playing tribute to the old school, but there is an undercurrent happening in rock that points to the future. But, I'm getting ahead of myself; here come the champs. 10 MILITARIE GUN Life Under the Gun June 23, 2023 • Loma Vista Highlights Very High Will Logic Never Fucked Up Once Rising from the ranks of the still-potent L.A. hardcore scene, the debut record from Militarie Gun (following a trio of EPs) bears a dash of polish that's expected with backing from a larger label; the tension and energy remain, though, resulting in one of the catchiest hardcore albums I can think of in recent years. 9 ...

Year in Rock 2023: Album of the Year #15-11

Alright, enough messing around. Let's cozy on up to the top 10. 15 THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM History Books October 27, 2023 • Rich Mahogany/Thirty Tigers Highlights History Books Autumn Michigan, 1975 It's not easy for a band to come back from nearly a decade away and simply pick up where they left off; it makes sense, then, that The Gaslight Anthem don't really try. Instead, their sixth album takes a more measured approach that's somewhat akin to a juiced up version of Brian Fallon's solo records. I personally would have preferred a little more fire in the collective belly, but otherwise everything there is to love about this band is fully intact. 14 ROYAL THUNDER Rebuilding the Mountain June 16, 2023 • Spinefarm Highlights The Knife Now Here - No Where Fade Coming a long six years after the enthralling, expansive WICK , Royal Thunder reemerges down one member with a somewhat stripped down sound in turn. Having said this, singer/bassist Mlny Parsons has long been the s...

SOUND BITES

Search This Blog