The Flaming Lips “At War with the Mystics”
Warner Brothers Records
Back before the career-making opus that was “The Soft
Bulletin,” The Flaming Lips were kind of a gimmick band. As
if the name wasn’t a dead giveaway, the Lips’ pre-1999
material was more concerned with silliness than crafting songs. The
band’s primary interest was in sonic forays like the
four-disc “Zaireeka,” an album based on the premise of
the listener playing all of the CDs on four different stereos
simultaneously. The Lips’ latest work, then, is somewhat of a
return to form. Eschewing the moderately successful attempts at
traditional songwriting that characterized 2002’s
“Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots,” “At War with
the Mystics” is loud, experimental and, above all, as much
fun as the Flaming Lips have ever been. Not that hyperactive singer
Wayne Coyne needed the extra jolt, but the Lips cranked up the
volume on this album: “The W.A.N.D.,” “Free
Radicals” and “It Overtakes Me” (on which Coyne
says “You could turn it up even a little bit more”) are
all riff monsters, attention focused squarely on electric guitars
and overdriven amps. On the smoother side, “My Cosmic Autumn
Rebellion” is all sweet “Soft Bulletin” synthetic
strings and oscillating effects before a distorted guitar takes the
lead. The reliance on superfluous sound effects harms “Free
Radicals” and “Haven’t Got a Clue” on
repeated listens, but for the most part, the songs are complex,
diverse and consistently rocking. One of the major strengths of
“The Soft Bulletin” was the merging of Coyne’s
nonsensicalness with the moral platitudes that went on to overwhelm
“Yoshimi.” Here, Coyne isn’t above generalizing
and name-calling (“You think you’re so radical /
you’re fanatical!”) but it’s only semiserious,
and many of the songs are personal rather than judgmental.
“Mr. Ambulance Driver,” written for Coyne’s
deceased mother, is a simple, gentle expression of sorrow and
resignation delivered with the Lips’ characteristic bounce.
“Though I live, somehow I’ve found / Mr. Ambulance
Driver, I’m not a real survivor / I’m wishing that I
was the one that wasn’t going to be here anymore,”
Coyne sings, and though the words register, the buoyancy of the
music makes it hopeful all the same. While The Flaming Lips will
probably never equal the unique synergy of “The Soft
Bulletin,” just hearing them make the attempt again is pretty
inspiring. It’s a tribute to the band that, after two decades
in the trenches, they have as much drive as ever, and ““
unlike most groups their age ““ the music to match.