In these days of pick ’n’ mix playlists, here’s one way to ensure people will listen to an album all the way through: make it a children’s story about a giant king who swallows outer space, saves a city from an avalanche, then dies and has his enormous head preserved in steel for everyone to climb inside and see the stars. Why not have it narrated by Mick Jones from The Clash while you’re at it?
King’s Mouth, the 15th Flaming Lips album, arrived on gold vinyl for Record Store Day in April and gets its full release today. It’s also a book written and illustrated by frontman Wayne Coyne, and a travelling art installation where you can climb into a large metal head, sit on tooth-shaped pillows and gaze up at an LED display while listening to the music.
The songs are a shift away from the darker, paranoid psychedelia of 2013’s The Terror, back to the gleeful eccentricity of the band’s biggest album, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.
Lyrically, the telling of this strange tale doesn’t see them at their most poignant. “Childlike” is a descriptor that has long followed the Oklahoma band around but there’s no better term for lines such as “Feedaloodum beedle dot/ Floating like a lollipop.”
Musically, however, there’s a galaxy of intriguing sounds, from the clanking beats of The Sparrow to the vibrating electronic freakout of Electric Fire. Put headphones on and it really could feel like a few constellations have been sucked into your brain.
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