The Flaming Lips really know how to make you feel kind of warm and fuzzy at the same time as totally unnerved. In their most recent release, The Terror, they return to their acid-rock roots, focusing more on sonic experimentation and less on vocals. The lyrics remain simple and typical—Wayne Coyne outer spacey mantras of the fragility of life and the predicament of being human—but those are way off in the distance. You can find them somewhere among the layers that only a musical genius like Steven Drozd can create. Throughout the album it’s like the prophecies of ‘70s Krautrock have been realized, starting right off with the powerful “Look… The Sun Is Rising.” For diehard Lips fans: remember that acid trip that Embryonic took you on? Well, it’s 3 am and its just kicking in for a second wind. And there’s nothing you can do about it.
[rating:3.5]
-Tricia Roy
