Flaming Lips – Flowers of Neptune 6 – New Single and Video

Firstly let me preface this review with the idea that I love this band. Some of the early 80s stuff has too much treble and is drenched and feedback.  As the Lips matured, they were moving towards a more orchestral and melodic approach. This culminated with their release the Soft Bulletin.

After that Wayne Coyne Steve Drozd & Company have diligently created music on a consistent basis ever since 1999. They are unafraid to collaborate and to make noise on releases that are traditional Flaming Lips albums and their one off projects. ( example Zaireeka, Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, Dark Side of the Moon cover record etc) 

This new single is less busy with electronical bleeps and whirrs. It has the the acoustic guitar simplicity and clean picked sound of fight test from the Yoshimi record.

There are some background string tracks in which  Soft Bulletin is referenced. 

Moving along to the video. Wayne is doing his human sized gerbil ball walk among scorched earth. Like Beavis might say “fire is cool”. The shots change to Wayne outside the bubble ball and he is singing along with a wooded sunset in the background. I am an absolute sucker for cinematography like this and the Lips have done the sunset “magic hour” shot before.

Check this one from Yoshimi Battles Pink Robots.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fye1XtXQn9s

Curiously, Wayne is wearing a sort of vintage suit that he has been known to wear before. He also has some type of paratrooper vest on as well. If anyone can pull it off it’s him. Old Glory is featured prominently and wrapped around Wayne throughout the video. the only critique I have regarding this video, I would have liked to have seen quick shots of the band, but come to think of it the fact that Wayne is wandering alone adds a certain wistful isolated feel that I get when i listen to their dreamier tracks. So perhaps a forest soliloquy is appropriate. Could a new record be on its way? We’ll see soon I am sure.