Music review: The Flaming Lips still have many things to say with 'Embryonic'

Back in the ’80s, these weirdos from Oklahoma decided to unleash some distorted, electronic pop on the world. Since then, the band’s cheerful, hard-rocking songs charmed the hearts of critics and college students alike. Now, The Flaming Lips are back with Embryonic, a record that combines the band’s eccentricities with meditation and nuance.

Embryonic is a monster — 18 winding compositions with enough dimensions to baffle even die-hard fans. But this isn’t a flaw. Like most great albums, it warrants concentration and focus, and after a few listens, it blooms like a lily in water.

“Evil,” with its haunting keyboard and off-kilter harmonies, is one of the most impactful tracks on the album, peppered with eerie static. “Aquarius Sabotage” follows with an immediate dose of distorted, frenetic guitar and unexpected chimes. These songs demonstrate the Lips’ inimitable dexterity. Just when the album builds an aura of contemplation, it becomes forceful and brash, a jarring yet welcome shift that makes the record feel like an odyssey.

Though it’s largely contemplative, the tracks never feel stale. Each song brims with myriad instruments, stray sounds and layered vocals, and disassembling the components is no easy task. Subtle variations in tempo, subject matter and instrumentation ensure that each song reads as a chapter in a well-constructed novel; the plot may not be linear, but the components are cohesive.

The lyrics are equally impressive. Juxtapositions between the mechanical and natural world and the daunting linearity of time characterize a group of songs that address modernism in a postmodern era. “The Sparrow Looks Up at the Machine” deals with a bird whose fears prevent him from flying while “See the Leaves” proposes a George Harrison-esque reincarnation saga. It’s intimidating subject matter, but it imbues each song with depth and profundity, ensuring that few verses, if any, seem remotely pedestrian.

“If” stands as a melancholy critique of human nature, a hymn-like parallel to 2002’s “Do You Realize??” Wayne Coyne whispers, “People are evil, it’s true/But on the other side they can be gentle too,” alongside ambient keyboards and the distant  drone of an organ. It’s the most pared-down track on the album, and as such, it’s a startlingly beautiful moment of reflection.

Embryonic is a meditative journey from one song to the next, with The Flaming Lips abandoning the carefree sensibilities of its more popular songs in favor of a brooding, intricate epic.

It may not be the Lips many casual fans have come to know and love, but it proves that even at this late date in its career, the band has experimentation and depth to spare.



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