The Flaming Lips, 'Embryonic'

Release date: October 13, 2009
Record label: Warner Bros.
Official Web site: http://www.flaminglips.com/

The buzz: Oklahoma heroes the Flaming Lips have been shredding the sonic envelope ever since the early '80s. They have always expertly walked the tightrope between experimentation and accomplishment: Their 1997 four-disc project "Zaireeka" was a single listening experience meant to be simultaneously played through four separate CD players, but the trio wasn’t above playing its 1993 hit "She Don't Use Jelly" on TV teen drama "Beverly Hills, 90210." Wayne Coyne, Michael Ivins and Steven Drozd had yet to create a double album, a gap in their resume that has now been filled by this hypnotic, destabilizing effort.

The verdict: A challenging epic drenched in effects, narcotic atmospheres, jagged noise, unhinged drums, sinister bass and Coyne's ethereal poetics, "Embryonic" defies its title with skill. (If it's still in the embryo stage, goodness knows what its finished version would sound like.) Formless experiments like "Powerless" and "Aquarius Sabotage" careen between orchestral dub, jazz and freakout rawk. Stunning powerhouse stomps such as "The Sparrow Looks Up at the Machine," "See the Leaves" and "Convinced of the Hex" straddle psychedelia and industrial without committing to either. Digital down-tempo dreamers like "The Impulse," "Gemini Syringes" and "I Can Be a Frog" are magic carpet rides into the subconscious. A more confusing and brilliant album has not been made this year. 

Did you know? The Flaming Lips' poignant 2002 single "Do You Realize??" was named Oklahoma's official state rock song earlier this year.

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