Embryonic

by

The Flaming Lips

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I'm an old dude. Pushing 60. Spent my formative musical years in the 60's and 70's, a huge fan of groups like the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Moody Blues, King Crimson, Yes, Traffic, Genesis, Roxy Music/Eno and more obscure groups like Gong, Camel, White Noise, Gang of Four and Le Orme. I wanted to present that perspective so you get where I'm coming from before saying I think Embryonic is a masterwork that stands up to the efforts of those vets who knew how to blend music, sound and noise into a sonic landscape that takes the listener on wonderful journeys.

Believe me, I understand that this is not everyone's cup of tea. It was never intended to be. I get it why some people might actually hate it, just like I used to get crinkled faces and jeers when I put on In the Court of the Crimson King or Topographic Oceans. But to the audience who enjoys more adventuresome opuses, who have the patience and desire to sit back, listen intently from beginning to end and just let the fun happen, this is one of the freshest, most original albums I have heard in years. Perhaps my favorite for all of 2009.

I had high hopes for this album, being that I absolutely loved their last one: At War with the Mystics. However, after listening to the first couple of tracks...I was disappointed. Unlike Mystics and Yoshimi, this album seems a little...messy. While the Lips previous albums sounded more precise and orchestrated, even with their strange sounds at times, Embryonic feels rushed and clumsy. I've listened to this album over and over, hoping that maybe I just needed to keep listening to it to understand it. But my thoughts remain the same. Don't get me wrong, there are a few songs I really like on here. But not enough to say that I like this album. Most of these tracks just sound like a bunch of meaningless noise put together with overdubbed music and vocals with too much reverb. I don't mind the "out there" tones and sounds, but I just wish it was more music rather than sounding like a random garage band session. The key tracks I like are Evil, Gemini Syringes, Silver Trembling Hands.